View Full Version : In the spirit of Hadar and Camoin...
le pendu
21-11-2004, 02:07
With the recent historical "restorations" by good folks like Kris Hadar and the House of Camoin, I'd like to think that with our great knowledge of the tarot gathered from this board, many of us are possibly capable of restoring some of the cards ourselves.
Here, I present for the first time, a completely restored version of The Tower, based on years of research and historical fact finding.
Please share your thoughts and insights on the newly revealed image, what does the new version of the tower reveal to you?
And please, please share any cards that you may have restored yourself.
winking,
robert
Hehehe
I can see that much historical research has gone into this version of the Marseilles Tower Robert and I think somehow you have managed to alter the meaning of the card slightly (if you don't mind me saying) :)
It has less shock appeal to me now and more a feel of acceptance. The third 'person' falling doesn't even put his arms out to save his fall, almost as though he was expecting to be thrown from the Tower. On the other hand, he he must have been partially surprised because he's forgotten his clothes! :)
If I can be a little more crytical... I would also suggest the title could be changed to plural?? Just a thought though... I look forward to seeing more cards.
Rusty Neon
21-11-2004, 03:52
le pendu,
That card was wonderful. I love spoofs. I look forward to seeing more. With 77 more cards like that, we'd then actually have a Hadar restored deck that is worthwhile! :)
le pendu, I admire the scholarship and research that went into this card. The breathtaking juxapositions, the respectful use of colour and line. Brilliant.
A brand new vision of the Tower/la Maison Dieu. You have given a new depth to this card. I now understand that one can live with serenity what others see as a disaster. I couldn't be without noticing that you chose to give the third character (obviously the most advanced spiritually since he is the "serene" one) the yellow colour. According to Carole Sédillot's "Ombres et Lumières du Tarot", yellow is the colour for light and conscience, it radiants with sacred intensity. Keywords for the yellow colour include generosity, optimism, esteem, superiority, clarity, plenitude.
The buildings in the backgrounds remind of the pilars behind the High Priestess in standard Rider Waite decks. I am thus surprised you included them in your restoration of the Maison Dieu. Would you be kind enough to share the reason of this dary choice? Is La Papesse's energy somehow to be felt in le_pendu's restored Maison Dieu? I must admit I am extremely puzzled by this choice of yours.
In the same way, I am afraid I don't understand why you felt the need to put what looks like a sacred book on the left side of the Maison Dieu. Once again, you seem to have surrended to RWS standards from the High Priestess which is very disturbing.
In conclusion, although I can only admire your dedication to the Tarot, I think the world would be better without these kinds of attempts. Some of us take things seriously here. Unless you have excellent motivations and justifications for altering such a sacred manifestation as the Tarot de Marseille, I once again beg you not to post your distorded creations here again.
Kissa
*intégriste*
le pendu
21-11-2004, 05:43
Um... not sure why this was moved from Chat to this forum.. I never intended it to be taken as a serious attempt at Tarot Deck Creation. In fact, never intended it as serious at all..
robert
Ooops! So it has........
hmmmm.......
It was definately in Chat when I replied... I never thought you were serious :D:P
baba-prague
21-11-2004, 06:19
EEEK!
But I love it.
Cerulean
21-11-2004, 07:43
and I did smile...because even the cartoon character was well-known to me in the U.S.A. as one of those under a corporate copyright.
However some people from other areas may not realize it was a spoof or joke.
I've seen Le Pendu's other art deck. It's very much different, thoughtful and all his own work.
Best wishes,
Cerulean
am i the ppl from other areas?
eh guys, you didn't think i was serious, right????????????????????
kissa
eh guys, you didn't think i was serious, right???...Fear not ~ your good-natured and fun-loving lambaste
was as clear as the smile on Homer's face :) and without
a hint of, how shall we put it, dimly oxidized corrosion...
This is what happens when one runs a search in this forum for important ancient Greek names... Homer, Herakles, etc.
One ends up in rectified creations.
One small point, Le Pendu, to your research skills. It is well to discover numerous things which were once hidden in earlier decks - but at times what was but ghostly appearance (for example, the third character) are perhaps better left implied. The ghostly appearance in former decks of such Homeric echoes is... well... how shall I put it... of a shadowy sort.
The twin pillars in the background have been on Marseille Tower cards from quite early days (it does take meticulous research with deck comparison to actually notice their existence) - and your resurrection of their past more difficult to see shapes is reminiscent of undivided attentive work.
Thankyou for your meticulous research and artistic and original work...
blue_fusion
21-11-2004, 17:12
good job! if i may ask, how exactly did you "restore" the card? :)
le pendu
22-11-2004, 01:07
I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts and encouraging more study of restored images like this one.
As to my methods and the symbolism involved in restoring this card:
After studying the work of Hadar and the House of Camoin, I realized that there was still much work to be done in creating a *true* restoration of the TdM. By careful study of the Noblet, Dodal, and other early decks, one can find traces of lost imagery important to the true meaning of the Tarot (capital "T", always!).
Who is this third figure? As cleverly pointed out by JMD, it may be a representation of the great author "Homer", who had until now, been purposedly dissassociated from the Tarot by the ruthless attempts of the Catholic church to purge any pagan, and therefore heretical figures from existance. I tend rather, to see him as the naked embodiment of "The Soul", the other figures representing "The Mind" and "The Body".. although there are other possible triple-aspected godheads that come to mind, more research is needed to say for sure which is depicted on the card itself.
As so rightly noted by Kissa, the third figure is naked and colored yellow.. representing his more spiritual qualities and the serene nature of his being. But Kissa, what of his folded arms? Surely there is additional symbolism there? Is this figure decending from the hole in the top of tower or through the upper window?
A key to this mystery was recognizing the number "3" in the design of this card. Three windows... Three figures... THREE TOWERS! 3X3! A well known number of divinity.. represented by the "9"s in the Tarot as a manifestation of completion. So the additional towers were restored, but please note the SYMBOL on the other two towers. I believe they are somehow related to the "Seal of Solomon" and other magical symbols used by the Knights Templar to conceal the secret meaning of the Tarot from the uninitiated. Perhaps the third figure is Solomon himself and the Tower does indeed refer to the destruction of his temple?
But for me, the biggest enigma is still to be solved... the mysterious rune-like writing on the crest to the left of main tower! Note that the crest is divided in half, green above, white below. This is certainly a reference to the Hermetic axiom "As above, so below!"... but the letters themselves, and the secret knowledge they conceal.. may be lost to us forever.
Fulgour, you are an expert at ancient scripts and alphabetic systems.. perhaps your insights could help us all?
Finally, I'd like to thank all of you for participating in this thread with the correct spirit that it was intended. Nothing would bring me greater happiness than to see the "restored" work of others added to the thread for continued conversation.
robert
HudsonGray
22-11-2004, 06:47
One teensy little question, Robert. What of the rosy cheeked buttocks on the mysterious yellow third figure? What is the symbology in that? It seems a bit too dark to be accounted for by 'shading' processes. Perhaps his learning experiences have not always been benign?
'Inquiring minds' and all that....
Cerulean
22-11-2004, 09:28
...not written in the Secrets of the Ages, but hinted at in the lost emerald-and-golden tablets...
Homer in gold, with shaded postierier, is a Bodhivista, an arrived one in hominoid form.
Bodhivistas
Many Baku started on the daunting path toward gaining full mastery of all the Ways, but only a select few ever achieved that level of enlightenment. These were the heroes of that race, the most balanced and wise of the race that was most balanced and wise. Bodhivistas gain access to spirit magics that can summon elephant herds from the Umbra* or reveal the secrets of other worlds with ease. They also gained enormous control of mind and body, sensing the spirit world and effecting it with their bodies and resisting the pull of Frenzy...
Description: The Hominoid form of the Baku was always really big and rotund; petite or skinny baku were unheard of. Heights of up to seven feet tall and weight upwards of 300 lbs were common place among them.
http://www.geocities.com/luiz_roberto/Rpg/Bete/Baku.htm
*Umbra is the plural for the 'Ombres' or Umbre region, only one allotted to an online population. That is why we have only ONE Umbre, mouthpiece of the Seditious one, with a magical cape...
The Rectified Baku King of Pentacles is being designed, an alternative to a card design that I'm posting later this week...more to follow...
Cerulean
Rusty Neon
22-11-2004, 09:30
le pendu and cerulean ... I'm waiting for the publications of your respective companion books to the 'rectified' TARO.
Fulgour, you are an expert at ancient scripts and alphabetic systems.. perhaps your insights could help us all?This construction "KWIK MART" emblazoned on a Square
can but mean thus ~ the Heir Supreme to the Yellow One:
THE BOY (http://ourworld.cs.com/DeceitScnd/bartmarker.jpg)! ("Don't have a Cow, Man...") 3rd Eye-Karamba!
The 78th Fool
23-11-2004, 00:32
Following on from Le Pendu's stunningly scholastic researches, may I offer my own humble contribution to the canon - X-ray photography has recently revealed hitherto un-noticed figures in the original woodcuts - see attachment!
Chris. xx
Wonderful! In fact, this only adds to my own research. I was coming to the conclusion that Tarot had originated in the ancient Phoenician city of Carthage – the land of cartoons (from the Latin “carthoons”). Hope to see more developments of this revolutionary theory soon.
Silvia
le pendu
24-11-2004, 01:37
Following on from Le Pendu's stunningly scholastic researches, may I offer my own humble contribution to the canon - X-ray photography has recently revealed hitherto un-noticed figures in the original woodcuts
Amazing discover 78th Fool!
Is this a third twin? Should we now refer to the "Triplets on the Sun card?"
And what of that unusal Urn from which he/she emerges?
Is that a halo around his/her head?
Thanks for sharing!
robert
The 78th Fool
24-11-2004, 04:20
This is indeed the third twin - emerging from the trash can of re-birth. However it must be understood that this is one of the higher mysteries, only fully understood by those who have experienced the initiation into the 6578965th inner sanctum - Hence it's invisibility prior to modern x-ray photography. I would humbly ask therefore that you treat this depiction of the mystic trash can with the reverence that it deserves.*
*I would like to thank Robert from the bottom of my heart for his guidance and tuition with regards to these great mysteries. Prior to receiving his great wisdom in these matters I was misguidedly convinced that this card depicted a prophetic premonition of Oscar from Sesame Street. Thankfully my dear friend has set me right in such matters and assures me that such conclusions are bound to be drawn when hallucinogenics are involved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chris. xx
This is indeed the third twin - emerging from the trash can of re-birth.
how fascinating!
the XVIIII card offering an avant-goût of card numbered XX: Le Jugement!
your studies, dear Fou, have led you on a mysterious path. could i dare a question: if XVIIII offers part of the meaning of XX, do you think there was always a card XX? or has it just been added recently? have we, modern naive students, been somehow cheated into thinking there are 22 major arcana?
kissa
*off to count all the majors in her decks collection*