Yoav Ben-Dov
hello to all,
i am happy to announce in this forum the appearance of CBD TAROT DE MARSEILLE - a new restoration of the most appreciated and influential traditional tarot deck, the Conver (1760) Tarot de Marseille.
for a short video tour through the deck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKhj3WFybv0
to see all the card images, go to the gallery on my website or on flickr
http://www.bendov.info/tarot/cbd/gallery/index.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48485995@N00/sets
this is the outcome of 3+ years work by myself and two commissioned professionals (Leela Ganin, Nir Matarasso).
in the restoration, i tried to remain as faithful to the original as i could. still, i had to adapt the images to the new print techniques and materials (whiter paper, blacker ink, sharper printing..), and to the visual sensibilities of today (we are accustomed to more vivid colors, smoother lines, lighter human expressions in pictures). so it is not supposed to be an exact museum replica of Conver's original, but rather an attempt to translate his artistic genius (not to say magic) into a form that can touch and move people today.
having said that, i was surprised to discover how much of Conver's art is "up to date". once the lines were re-drawn and cleaned, i could see cubist-like compositions, openness to multiple interpretations (surfaces left uncolored, ambiguity and anomalies in forms and objects), and a complex interplay between order and chaos (regularity and irregularity, symmetry and symmetry-breaking). i tried to keep these "abnormal" features (which the new printing techniques sometimes made more conspicuous) instead of trying to rectify them.
what i didn't try to do was to restore the original symbolism of the tarot. in my view any attempt to do so would be hypothetical. so, when making decisions, my main concern was "how is it in the original woodprint", and given that, "what visual and emotional impact does it make", but not "what is it supposed to signify ". this i leave to the beholder / interpreter.
there are two explanatory videos i put on youtube -
a brief description of the restoration process
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORDyqL26VM
composition and movement - the graphical tricks of Conver's art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYkK5BKI5mo
and some additional points:
the cards were printed on private order by Carta Mundi in Belgium. for those interested in printing their own decks, i recommend them very highly for quality of production, reliability, attention to detail and human interaction.
i kept the commercial rights on the cards - after all, i invested quite a lot in this project. but as Conver's tarot is part of the cultural heritage of humanity, i chose to distribte the card images under a creative commons license. this means that you are welcome to use them for non-commercial purposes as you wish.
for those who will be there, i am going to present the cards at the ATS 2011 Tarot convention in Sainte-Suzanne, France, on sept. 24.
http://www.tarotstudies.org/2011convention.html
for the moment, for technical reaons, i can sell the cards only in Israel. also, there is not yet an English documentation - working on it.
hope you like the card images, yoav
i am happy to announce in this forum the appearance of CBD TAROT DE MARSEILLE - a new restoration of the most appreciated and influential traditional tarot deck, the Conver (1760) Tarot de Marseille.
for a short video tour through the deck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKhj3WFybv0
to see all the card images, go to the gallery on my website or on flickr
http://www.bendov.info/tarot/cbd/gallery/index.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48485995@N00/sets
this is the outcome of 3+ years work by myself and two commissioned professionals (Leela Ganin, Nir Matarasso).
in the restoration, i tried to remain as faithful to the original as i could. still, i had to adapt the images to the new print techniques and materials (whiter paper, blacker ink, sharper printing..), and to the visual sensibilities of today (we are accustomed to more vivid colors, smoother lines, lighter human expressions in pictures). so it is not supposed to be an exact museum replica of Conver's original, but rather an attempt to translate his artistic genius (not to say magic) into a form that can touch and move people today.
having said that, i was surprised to discover how much of Conver's art is "up to date". once the lines were re-drawn and cleaned, i could see cubist-like compositions, openness to multiple interpretations (surfaces left uncolored, ambiguity and anomalies in forms and objects), and a complex interplay between order and chaos (regularity and irregularity, symmetry and symmetry-breaking). i tried to keep these "abnormal" features (which the new printing techniques sometimes made more conspicuous) instead of trying to rectify them.
what i didn't try to do was to restore the original symbolism of the tarot. in my view any attempt to do so would be hypothetical. so, when making decisions, my main concern was "how is it in the original woodprint", and given that, "what visual and emotional impact does it make", but not "what is it supposed to signify ". this i leave to the beholder / interpreter.
there are two explanatory videos i put on youtube -
a brief description of the restoration process
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORDyqL26VM
composition and movement - the graphical tricks of Conver's art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYkK5BKI5mo
and some additional points:
the cards were printed on private order by Carta Mundi in Belgium. for those interested in printing their own decks, i recommend them very highly for quality of production, reliability, attention to detail and human interaction.
i kept the commercial rights on the cards - after all, i invested quite a lot in this project. but as Conver's tarot is part of the cultural heritage of humanity, i chose to distribte the card images under a creative commons license. this means that you are welcome to use them for non-commercial purposes as you wish.
for those who will be there, i am going to present the cards at the ATS 2011 Tarot convention in Sainte-Suzanne, France, on sept. 24.
http://www.tarotstudies.org/2011convention.html
for the moment, for technical reaons, i can sell the cards only in Israel. also, there is not yet an English documentation - working on it.
hope you like the card images, yoav