Tarot Cards as a Medium for Art

Posted by Administrator on 2/4/2012 to Articles

The question ultimately is whether tarot increasingly is becoming divorced from its archetype. If the meaning is conveyed through the archetype, is embellishment necessary? Or to put it in a different way, is the acquisition of tarot cards increasingly driven by the stylistic considerations as opposed to, for example, spirituality and introspection.

Luis Royo's Black Tarot is a good example of art presented in the Rider-Waite format and nothing more. However, his subsequent Labyrinth Tarot shows that the artists' sensibilities are not entirely commercial. Luciano Vecchio's comments in his recent interview with us also suggest that while the tarot may initially be seen as a new medium, ultimately the archetypes come through during the artistic process. And that makes his Cruel Thing Tarot more dimensional.

The above being said, unquestionably many if not most of the mass tarot releases are merely "commercial" works. Perhaps a subset of manga or graphic novels, driven by collector interest or teenage anxiety. In some ways, it is as if the tarot has become a gallery and the reader must always exit through the gift shop. If that is the case, we fortunate to feature works by Victoria Frances, Anne Stokes and Alchemy of England.

Ultimately, we cannot separate form and function. Or at least the premise of House of Tarot is that the form is changing the function. We are interested in learning your views on this topic and welcome your comments on our Facebook page.

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