Tarot in the News
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Jan 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Kiama |
31 Jan 2004 |
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Thanks for the link HudsonGray!
It was very interesting to read... I'm always on the look our for Tarot in the news. I was a little disappointed to see that no distinction was made between psychics and non-psychic Tarot readers though: we're not all psychic!
But it was very well-balanced, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. :D
Kiama
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| HudsonGray |
01 Oct 2004 |
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There's another article at this site:
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/09/30/415bd12be5587
But since the newspaper URL's tend to get their stories off fairly quickly, I'll post the article below too, just in case the URL goes inactive.
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Artist hopes exhibit changes perception of tarot
By Melanie Feyerherm / Daily Nebraskan
September 30, 2004
They can be found around the world with a number of diverse themes such as fairy tales, goddesses, Hello Kitty and Star Trek.
But in Lincoln, at Gallery Nine, 124 S. 9th St., they can be found with whimsical circus themes.
“Cirque de Whimsy,” the newest exhibit by Carol Hartman Devall, opened Wednesday and showcases a series of hand-colored linoleum prints of 52 of the 78 cards in a tarot deck.
Hartman Devall, who is a 1978 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, said she started the physical work on the cards at the end of 2001, but the idea of the project started long before.
“I’ve liked tarot cards for over 20 years. I’ve dabbled and played with them,” she said. “Then I was talking with other artist friends, and the idea came up again and I decided I wanted to create my own deck.”
She said “Cirque de Whimsy” theme came about from the idea that life is like a circus – it’s a juggling act, a walk on a tightrope, and it’s full of jumping through hoops, she said.
“(The cards are) like a little picture of the universe; They have all these aspects of life,” she said.
While the pieces are whimsical as a whole, there are cards that are darker than others are, because that’s the way the deck is, and that’s the way life is, Hartman Devall said.
The fanciful touch she adds gives the feeling that no matter how bad things can get in life, there’s always hope, she said.
Hartman Devall said because the idea of creating 78 unique pieces is overwhelming, she limits herself to working on four at a time.
She begins the process by choosing which ones to craft. Sometimes, she said, she just draws randomly from an actual deck.
She then does research on the symbolism behind each card, and through sketching she’s able to add her own personal touches.
“This series has taken everything I’ve done, all the ideas I’ve had, the symbols I’ve used in the past. I’ve put it all in one show,” Hartman Devall said.
One glance at the “3 of Cups” card shows the personal touch she adds to the deck.
While the basic image of the card is three women holding up jugs of water, Hartman Devall’s image is of three belly dancers.
Off and on for one-and-a-half years, she has taken lessons and danced with the In Your Dreams dancers at Dancers Oasis Bellydance Studio, 1511 N. Cotner Blvd.
The dancers will perform at the show’s opening reception on Friday at 9 p.m. While they have performed for opening receptions at Gallery Nine before, this time the featured artist will be dancing among them.
Marie Hubbard, an artist and member of the Gallery NineProfessional Artists Affiliation, said she felt Hartman Devall’s tarot card series was incredible.
“Carol has a very special, unique vision. I love her continuation of theme throughout the whole thing,” Hubbard said.
She said she believed Lincoln is a conservative city and that the ideology of tarot is a different concept for this area.
But Hartman Devall said she hopes viewers of her work can walk away from it with an interest in looking further into the symbolism behind the cards and alleviating the thought that tarot is odd and scary.
“People sometimes look at these things with caution and fear,” she said. “There are people that think of these as anti-Christian, but it has imagery from all religions.”
Her plan once she finishes the other 26 cards is to talk to publishers and make the series into an actual tarot deck.
But for now, she’s focused on enjoying her first solo show at Gallery Nine.
The “Cirque de Whimsy” exhibit is on display now through Oct. 26. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
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| Mesara |
01 Oct 2004 |
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Thanks for sharing Hudson Gray! I think that first article was written well, placing tarot cards in a somewhat less flaky light. I really like how that woman compared tarot reading to prayer; food for thought for those who indulge in prayer but look down on tarot cards!
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| Lee |
02 Oct 2004 |
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Thanks HudsonGray, that was a great article.
I found it particularly interesting that the photo showing a tarot reading actually shows Spanish playing cards rather than tarot cards. This reminds me of a show I saw a few months ago on A&E, I think it was "City Confidential," a series about true crime stories. In this particular one, a woman had her daughter's ex-boyfriend murdered. Her accomplice was her Mexican psychic (this was in a Texas town near the border), who gave her frequent readings using Spanish playing cards, although the show's narrator called them tarot cards.
Perhaps there is a tradition among professional card readers who are Hispanic of preferring Spanish playing cards to tarot cards?
Spanish playing cards, by the way, use the traditional Italian suits, and thus the traditional tarot suits of cups, batons, swords and coins. I live in Arizona, and these decks are easy to buy here in Hispanic stores.
-- Lee
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| Mesara |
02 Oct 2004 |
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I know of an older puerto rican man who was quite adept at fortune-telling using regular spanish playing cards. I say fortune-telling because that is what it was; not tarot. So it could be a hispanic preference or maybe just the ways of the older hispanic generations. Supposedly this man had a family legacy of using cards to tell the future, so im sure it was something passed down from generation to generation.
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The Tarot in the News thread was originally posted on 30 Jan 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.
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