A doyen memorial designer picks his all-time favorite designs
April 8, 2003
COLD SPRING, Minn. - Imagine someone who talks about memorial designs in the same figurative and sensuous terms that art critics use to talk about expressionist paintings or wine critics use to describe bouquets of certain vintages. That's Joseph Miller, a person who considers himself an artist beyond anything else and "a competent memorial designer."
Miller was an accomplished artist well before he attended his first art class as a high school senior. That was when his rural Minnesota school welcomed its first art teacher. "I started drawing when I was three-years-old," says the chief designer of Royal Melrose Granites, the monument division of the Cold Spring Granite Co., the major memorial products designer and manufacturer. "And that's basically what I have been doing ever since for my whole life."
Miller graduated with an art major from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota in 1972. After working as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, Calif., Miller got a master's degree in painting and drawing. Among other things, he developed lithographic prints on Bavarian limestone, but that did not turn out to be a lucrative venture. In 1978 he narrowly missed winning an art contest for the Minnesota Duck Stamp. Realizing that another job and career might actually support his art, Miller began work as a full-time artist for Royal Melrose Granites in 1982.
His talent was immediately recognized. Miller started developing top memorial designs featured in Royal Melrose Granites' classic annual posters distributed to monument companies throughout the country. By the early 1990s, nearly all of the poster designs were Miller's.
Miller's designs all incorporate symbolic themes that are brought out by carved, polished and sandblasted shapes, colors and variegated patterns that Miller refers to as his "language of stone." Asked what his all-time favorite designs are, Miller initially shirked. He didn't want to be cornered into producing a list for the sake of producing a list. However, after several months of consideration, he consented. Miller's favorite designs were all developed in the 1990s. They are featured in reverse order, with Miller's all-time favorite showcased last. This is the first time Miller has ranked his favorite designs in his 21-year memorial design career.
(9) Heron: A marriage of finishes
A wonderful, flowing, elegant design. This memorial displays the full strength, texture and character of Starbright Black granite from Belfast, South Africa through sandblasted and polished finishes. "The marriage of finishes is fully brought out by playing off the Starbright Black's particulate mineral quality as it relates to the metallic crystalline structure of the brilliant Bronces Jorda lettering and emblem," says Miller. "When you can reveal the character of a stone like this, you're producing something like a full theater production in granite."
(8) Sable: Modern and Gothic
A contemporary design with a Gothic accent, Miller says the bull-nosed rounded top corners are polished so smooth "that your hands will slip through the memorial." The flowing Carnelian contour has "an easiness and ribbon-like quality," says Miller. "If you follow the polished top edges from left to right, the contemporary design turns into a sandblasted Gothic arch encasing a couple standing under a Gothic cross." The combination and transition from contemporary to Gothic forms and the simplicity of the design are Miller hallmarks.
(7) La Salle: "Pulsates with life"
Probably Miller's most sensuous statement representing a couple's love and unity as seen literally in the sandblasted smaller heart inside the highly-polished larger heart casting brilliant round reflections. "Everything about this Rosebud Red design is round, soft, warm, and sensuous." says Miller. "It's supposed to be a fun theme - a design that pulsates with life."
(6) Benchley: All about giving
"The smoothness of this design is unequalled," says Miller. "You can touch any part of the Sunset Red granite and not find a sharp edge." A strikingly simple design, the memorial doubles as a bench. Inviting people to sit on a memorial may not appear to be flattering. Miller says the symbolism is positive: "This design is all about giving, generosity and kindness. It shows the memorialized person inviting family members to rest on his or her memorial. This is a metaphor for the deceased reaching out to support people who are still alive."
(5) Burch: A spiritual metamorphosis
The Royal Black centerpiece signifies an elliptical circle of eternity according to Miller. "The deep black color; the clinical severity and geometry of the crisp lines; and the bright reflections cast from the high polish all enhance the timeless quality of this massive gem that is held by a pitched Sierra White boulder," says Miller. "The polished black represents the person or soul emerging from the irregular boulder of life. The design describes a spiritual metamorphosis from mortal life to an eternal soul."
(4) Gladden: Magical flaming streaks
The design was inspired by the saying, "The Lord is my rock and salvation." "I wanted to create a design that basically said the same thing and make sure that the cross could be identified with natural, unpolished stone," says Miller. The borders around the cross have been carved deeply to show natural rock contrasting the polished finish of the cross. The strength of this design lies in the Autumn Brown, Miller's favorite granite. Known for its warm and earthy tones, Autumn Brown every now and then explodes with flaming streaks as can be seen diagonally on this memorial. "It's just magical," says Miller.
(3) Brauer: Resurrection metaphor
If you look closely, the way the top and bottom parts of the memorial are cut makes it look like the Brauer face is shifting to the right away from the tomb of Christ while Christ, with outstretched hands, rises from the tomb. "In this rich blue context that ancients would have recognized as symbolic of truth, the universe is a sliding door revealing Christ rising from the darkness," explains Miller. The theme is reinforced by the fervent cloud-like movement in the GemStone Bahama Blue granite that represents an ethereal, heavenly quality.
(2) Norris: Two pieces from one stone; two people as one couple
This is a book-matched memorial. Two granite slabs were cut from a single block and matched to represent man and wife joined by a plinth carved with inset-bronze symbols for peace and eternity. The polished bull-noses on the inside edges cast "playful" reflections achieved with the warm-colored Autumn Brown. "They stand in close proximity with their rounded sensuous faces gently facing and reflecting each other," explains Miller. "The book-matched stones also provide a metaphor of love and unity: two pieces from one stone; two people as one couple." The sandblasted bottom arcs highlight the couple's names. The contrasting color tones, contours, finishes, and matched variegated patterns create an "intensity" that Miller says is also "warm, amiable and fun."
(1) Titus: Cosmic movement in stone
Miller's all-time favorite, this is another book-matched memorial. Two slabs from the same piece of Autumn Brown granite represent man and wife. The polished granite reflects intense variegated patterns that look like cosmic swirls or dust. "There's so much content going on here, a multiplicity of colors with rich variegations amplified by the finish," says Miller. "If you look close and long enough at the memorial, however, the overall effect is a sense of harmony and calm that is appropriate for restful contemplation." The Autumn Brown is further brought out by the sandblasted stepbacks that create upward movement. "This design brings out all the color, strength, depth, and character of a warm and beautiful stone," says Miller. "It also has wild brilliant swirls and streaks of colors that create great movement. The stone and design just keeps growing on me," says Miller, as though he is referring to an animate object. "I never tire of looking at it."
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