Francesco Clemente's New York City tarot

There is an interesting exhibition at the Uffizi in Florence from September 9th to November 6th 2011 by the Italian born New York based artist Francesco Clemente. Born out of an interest in the tarot started only 3 years ago we are confronted here by a modern artist and his view upon the 78 images we all know.

All the figures in the Major Arcana and quite a few of the minors feature the artists New York friends (who are well known artists) as well as his 4 children and his wife who appears as The Star. The artist himself appears twice in the deck once as the fool and as the Ace of Swords. some of the cards do not feature any personality, like for example the Ten of Swords.

You can see some of the cards here
Here below you can see Francesco Clemente as The Fool, Diane von Furstenberg as The Force, Salman Rushdie as King of Swords and the Ace of Cups.

There is an article by Calvin Tompkins in The New Yorker.
 

Bohemian Cats Tarot third edition

Good news for all lovers of the Bohemian Cats Tarot after being OOP for some time Alex Ukolov and Karen Mahony of Baba-store are about to release a third edition of it! Off course they did some adjustments to the cards, to make them look even better than the first editions.

Pre-orders will open at the end of August/beginning of September.
Details will be published on the Bohemian Cats Facebook page, the Baba Studio Facebook page, and also sent out on their newsletter.
 

Disegnare non stanca - Tarocchi ed altre Figure

Some wonderful tarot creations get little or no attention by many tarotlovers because they are not printed in card format but inside a book, this is one of these treasures that merits to be noticed.

The book is perhaps a bit difficult to find/obtain but is sure worthy of making an effort! This work, published in 2001 by Sellerio is an overview of the work of Nicolo d'Alessandro, not only his tarot, all his prints are black and white very detailed images that kind of draw you inside their specific slightly bizarre universe.

The Incidental Tarot

Yesterday I told you about the fund raising for the Alchemical Tarot on the IndieGoGo site, well i did some searching on that site and I found an other deck that attracted my attention and I hope will find the needed budget to be able to get printed.

The artist Holly DeFount has set as goal to her self to create a piece of art every day of 2011 - and among the art created is this deck. The incidental does not refers to the art or symbolism, cause it is good, well executed original and  not always following the classical imagery or symbols, yet it stays a true tarot.

You can find her fund-raisersite here
She is also on facebook, ond Deviantart on Etsy and has her own website a busy bee indeed


For more recent info look here

The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed - Third Edition

The first 2 editions of this great deck went sadly out-of-print, but luckily we won't have to fear prices exploding like they did when  the first edition went OOP. Robert Place is planning to launch a third &; improved edition.


In conjunction with the new printing, Robert is finishing an updated version of the companion book and working with software engineer, Tony Newell, to create an app. version of The Alchemical Tarot.


To raise funds Robert Place has turned to IndieGoGo (a site designed so artist can raise the money they need to make their projects come reality), you can find his fund-raising page here

Kojiki Tarot

How would a Marseille deck look like if the TdM was invented in Japan? Well this deck published in 2010 comes pretty close to answering that, and the resulting majors only receives my 2 thumbs up appreciation.

The artist behind this deck Akiko Miyazaki connected the 22 cards of the tarot to the Kojiki ( "Record of Ancient Matters") an ancient Japanese mythological book from the early 8th century, and is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the stories of the Kami* that shaped it, and is one of the sources of the Shinto religion.The result is a coherent deck, a child that has a Japanese father and a mother straight from Marseilles (or vice-versa).



* Kami are in Shinto (the Japanese religion)  the spirits, natural forces, or essences the world is also sometimes translated as "god" or "deity," a translation that is contested under Shinto schollars. 

William Stolpin Tarot

Sometimes a deck is looks so charming clean and simple you just have to get them (and when the price is nice who am I to resist...)
One such deck is the tarot created by William R. Stolpin and that i found some time ago on eBay, i looked at it and immediately bought it.

The cards are slightly bigger (more or less 1/3) than most commercially published decks and a bit more square, but with nice round corners.
The art itself has a feel of medieval- and renaissancefairs, a feeling of things more pure and innocent than the one that surround us.

On his site you see many of his works and discover that Mr Stolpin has a broad field of interest and ways of expressing those both in his art as in his background. The deck itself is not for sale it seems only loose prints but you could always try and contact him ...

Tarot De Marseille - Isis Version

It seems to have been a loooong time since my last post here (shame on me) - and believe me it has nothing to do with a lack of material I want to share, because I've got a fair lot of new acquisitions.

So for my new post in over a month I choose this new TdM deck straight from Japan. The creator of this deck professor Tadahiro Onuma made with this Conver revamping (with some Camoin-Jodorowsky thrown in among other influences) a deck that might attract new people to the TdM with its colours that are both bright and lively, it's many natural facial expressions (watch those eyes they do add an extra spiciness to the personages portrayed) it even has a sense of space and dimension in it compared to the 'original' flat TdM cards. It is not what purist would call an 'authentic' deck but rather a Marseilles for the 21st century sensitiveness and tastes.

Professor Onuma isn't what you call a novice in esoteric subjects, he finished a doctoral course of the ancient Greek philosophy at Tokyo University, he also worked with Philippe Camoin in the past and  is also an Archpriest of the Fellowship of Isis (FOI).

Published in 2009 as a majors only this deck was printed in 2011 as a 78 cards deck for all to enjoy by ISIS (Institute of Study on Initiation and Symbolism) (this is the edition I posses) you can see their site here or order directly from professor Onura by mail (he accepts Paypal and is very fast)

Tarocchi Minchiate "Al Leone"

Nice decks, interesting decks ones with historic importance do not always need to be expensive, proof of that is one of my latest find of mine. During my daily overview on eBay I stumbled upon this historic reprint (unaltered or corrected - thus looking exactly like it was printed a few centuries ago) published back in 2004.

This deck is a photo reproduction of a Florentine Minchiate deck (circa 1790) from an original contained in the collection of the "FOURNIER" cards museum located in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, owned by the Excma. Diputacion Floral de Alava.The cards measure a nice sized 115mm x 60mm printed on lightish stock, with round corners but unfortunate gloss finish what takes away some of the authenticity, yet it remains an interesting deck for collectors and all those interested in historic decks.

Tarot Taré by Olivier Texier

I have a lot of decks in all kinds and genres but this one is among the bizarre ones I’ve got (and that’s not an understatement!) For those wondering what the title means Tare is a slang word meaning mad insane ‘out-of-their mind’ a title well chosen when you look at these 22 cards.

It was published last may by “Le Dernier Cri” (where it is still available) who specialize in strange creations and in recently also published a tarot by Marcel Reujters, and that is now sadly Out Of print – it has in common with that deck that they are both published in a limited edition (this one has only 200 decks) both are hand screened, have similar sizes and have a similar flap-thingy that contains them. Thus far what the similarities go.

The “people” that populate this deck are strange weird, freaks, monsters and mutants but in whom the artist tried to pass some human essence through a look a hand movent or some other detail - it's definitely NOT for the faint or weak at heart 

Well worth the effort of to look into it I’d say 

Jean-Claude Flornoy passed away on 24th of may

Jean-Claude Flornoy passed away on 24th of may  - a very sad thing, a great loss for the world in general and the world of tarot specifically. My thoughts go also out to his life companion Roxanne.

 Jean-Claude, you are and will be missed - peace to you.


So all who didn't yet know about him, or want to be a bit closer to him in their minds you can always visit his website or read his blog



I'm a bit lost for words right now, so I'll quote Khalil Girban wit these great words:

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Polish Tarot / Jasniak Tarot by Aleksandra Jasniak & Anna Galuszka

It's always good news when a deck comes back into print, especially when it's one i didn't have in my collection yet.
First published in 1995 and then in 1998 this lush colorful deck is at it's third printing now (the 2011 version is now called “The Polish Tarot”)  and i'm sure it has many years and potential in his future.It is a deck that has personality and dares to stand out of the crowd, like that eccentric aunt we all loved, that everyone was looking at and that loved the attention!

Subtly hinting towards the TdM, non-scenic pips, (almost) psychedelic effects, golden borders bilingual titles (Polish & English) what's not to like in it - I love it!

It's available at Tarot Garden

  

Mondo Bizzarro Gallery Tarot

The Mondo Bizzarro Gallery in Rome Italy held an tarot related exhibition this year (today is the last day - it ran from 30 march 2011 till 18 may 2011), they invited 20 artists from the Italian underground art scene to interpret the 22 major arcana cards into their own style. The result is a varied as the artists themselves are, ranging from the sweet over the comical or serious to the bizarre. The whole exhibition was under the guidance of it's organizer Alessia De Filippi who researched the tarot among other sources from Paul Foster Case's"Introduction to the study of tarot


The deck, that was published in a small edition of only 200 decks  by  Mondo Bizzaro in collaboration with  Elsewhere Factory Lab, consists of a Tarot deck of 22 cards plus 3 information cards, edition is already nearing the point of being sold out.


 You can see the cards here
Although the decks is not on sale in their shop you can mail them about it - and yes they accept Paypal

For these interested in names, here are the artist who collaborated and what card they created: Hogre (The Magician), Antonio Guzzardo (the High Priestess), Valeria Crusade (The Empress), Simone Tso '(The Emperor), Jb Rock (The Pope), Nike Alghisio Brass (The Lovers), Infidel (The Chariot), PU: RE (Justice), Paul Petrangeli (The Hermit), Diamond (The Wheel), Alessandra Fusi (Strength), Elena Rapa (The Hanged Man), Bafefit (Death), Mark Rea (The Temperance), Michele Guidarini (The Devil), King of the Herring (The Tower), Saturno Butto '(The Star), Luisa Catucci (The Moon), Genuine (The Sun), Luisa Montalto (The Judgement), Francesco D'Isa (World), Gaetano Leone (The Fool).

Tarot of Physics by Dan Horn & Corrine Kenner

Who said tarot and 'hard' science don't mix? well lo behold and  rejoice science AND tarot loving geeks and nerds (and no I didn't use those terms in a denigrated way) because here is the Tarot of Physics, all science all tarot and that 78 cards long.

Clean schematic minimalists images on pale yellow/beige background, that remind of high-school science textbooks, are used to link a different theory or application from physics to a tarot interpretations . In sync with the theme the suits have been renamed to Energy, Space, Time, and Matter.
As a special feature for those who want to use them the cards are only laminated on the backs so one could add notes, colors or anything you want to them.

The decks can exclusively be obtain from the Tarot Garden
you can also look it up on it's website or on Twitter (but sadly none of those are often updated)

Peacock Tarot by Peter Grahame

Somewhere near the end of last year I obtained this majors only deck by the Albuquerque based self-taught artist Peter Grahame, but somehow I forgot to post it here, blame it on my moving at that period because it is a creation that deserves being shared with you all.In 2009 it was published in a very limited edition of only 50 decks housed in a relatively big cardboard box

The Peacock tarot was created by mixing real persons  in 21st century dreamlike settings with digital collage and editing techniques without making each card overly heavy or worked upon, yet giving it a very rich and strong look. Set up as a meditation deck for those studying the tarot and also to be used for tarot readings this 22 cards deck gives a contemporary look to the age-old Tarot archetypes.

Twilight Rabbit Tarot by Jessica Clayman

There are many animal themed decks out there both self published or by big companies, featuring all kinds of animals but decks with rabbits there are few (as a matter of fact this is only the 2nd one I found and bought).

The artist has worked 5 entire years on this deck  of anthropomorphic rabbits featured in images that are interesting renderings of the WCS-tarot but seen through rabbit eyes. The cards echo at some places classical works of art, general culture or ancient mythology  (doesn't that empress remind you of a certain Venus and that 3 of cups made me think of Alice in Wonderland...) there is even place for my favorite Egyptian deity.

The deck is for sale at miss  Clayman's Etsy shop in 2 versions an 78 cards one and one with 83 cards where the 5 extra cards are Thoth-tarot versions of The Emperor, The Star, Lust and Adjustment (Balance) and also an Happy Squirrel card.

But wait there is more for those who doesn't get enough of this rabbit-o-rama there is the website wwww.twilightrabbit.com Fitting the theme the suits have been renamed to Clover (= Wands), Passions (= Cups), Carrots (= Swords)  and Stone (= Pentacles). The court cards became : Throne, Jack, Queen and King 

The Hive I & II Tarot's

Tarot has become mainstream and can be found in all kind of applications, milieus and supports, from the most commercial to the highest art. As a system to work around with many artist it's perfect and many collaborative decks have been created by artist, here it's the Hive gallery  from Los Angeles that has gathered artist around it and has produced 2 majors only decks (even if both projects counted 78 cards) out of it. Although both times the WCS served as a base for the project, the artist deviated from it, and somethimes even radically!

The first Hive tarot was produced in 2009 in a limited edition of only 100 decks.

The second deck came out in 2011 as the previous one in a limited edition of 100 decks

I hope these 2 will be the start of a long running tradition at the Hive gallery with may more decks published on a yearly base.


Entries for previous editions are to be found here:

• The Hive III Tarot
• The Hive IV

Association for Tarot Studies - April newsletter

The April edition of the ATS is out now and contains an extremely interesting article on the Xultun Tarot.

Sara Pulver's ACEO Tarot Deck

Etsy has become an interesting source for tarot decks these last few years, directly from passionate artists making small print runs or even individually handmade decks and sharing those on their shop.

One of these is Sara Pulver who during the year 2010 created each card in no particular order and beginning of this year she started selling the 22 majors as an ACEO-set printed on very light cardstock and each card put into acid free cellophane envelopes.

The deck is mad, irreverent and even chaotic (but in a good way, at least that's my opinion of them)
You can visit her shop here  

A Tarot Titkai by Zsófia Lázár & Katalin Szegedi

It's always nice when a deck you search and that was Out-Of-Print comes back available.Back in 1991 Hungarian painter Katalin Szegedi created a wonderful majors only deck accompanied with a book written by Zsófia Lázár the deck hence known as the "Szabo/Szegedi - A Tarot", has sadly has been OOP since a loooong time, even before I seriously started collecting.

But o joy last year a new edition was published as "Tarot Titkai", the images remain unchanged but the printing quality was upgraded to be more luminous and in better contrast than the original. It can be ordered from the artist site  for 3 980 Ft (approximately € 15,03 or $ 21,31), you can also email her

Reference original edition: Manteia 6, p. 43