The Art of Mortuary Science
Graphic design professor's NYC exhibit addresses an unusual topic.
Merritt has been a professor of graphic design at San Diego State University since 1986.
After her semi-retirement in 2013 (she still teaches part-time), Merritt began working toward a master’s degree in design research, writing and criticism at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She completed the degree last spring with a thesis entitled "Lay Me Down to Sleep: the Design of Coffins, Caskets and Alternative Containers."
Merritt’s research tracks the journey of a corpse from site of death to burial through the containers it may inhabit. She also considers alternative burial rituals including those in which the corpse is not preserved, but rather encouraged to decay and decompose.
A small collection of objects Merritt assembled during the research process was accepted into an exhibition at Mmuseumm, which occupies two former freight elevators at 4 Cortlandt Alley in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. The museum was founded by filmmakers Josh and Ben Safdie and Alex Kalman.
“All of the objects in my collection were designed to aid morticians in the embalming process,” Merritt said. “These intimate devices are seldom seen beyond the shelves of a mortician’s supply cabinet or the pages of an embalmer’s product catalog.”
The exhibition opened April 21, and will remain on display through 2016.
