I have to say that I don't like celebrity spotting through tarot decks. Finding Bogart in the Cosmic Tarot and Jim Morrison in the Ananda kind of ruined both of them for me - even if Jim is a very deserving Knight of Wands. It isn't so bad when an artist brings them to a deck openly; take the named figures of artists and writers in Place's Vampire tarot as an example. It's when they are used as general models that I find it hard to gel with them. My heart sank when I spotted James Dean in my first proper deck purchase, The Rohrig. I wanted something magical and other-worldly. I wasn't expecting to stumble over Jim Stark from Rebel without a Cause.I guess that this short post leads on from the last. I always remember Tori Amos being miffed by people selling unauthorised recordings of her concerts and being told that 'the bootleg' is the ultimate symbol of flattery for an artist. Is it? I was thinking about this in relation to Hertz and Froud. Would Froud be flattered by her obvious admiration for his work or would he be pissed that she'd nicked his images? I guess that what she is doing is no different to the thousands of deck designers who mimic Pamela Coleman Smith's drawings and create their own chinese whisper of the Rider Waite. Nobody seems to mind about that. Is it simply only ok because Coleman Smith isn't ali
ve to offend by the countless clone packs available?I have probably noticed more similarities in the cards than I can remember sitting here this morning. The most memorable is from The Light and Shadow Tarot by Michael Goepferd and Brian Williams. The Lovers is a woodcut (and reversed) version of Adam and Eve by Tamara de Lempicka, the glamorous Polish artist, who was a very popular art deco painter in the 1920s. I instantly spotted this one as I have always loved her work and it was mentioned in the book which comes with the deck. My parents had one of her prints at the bottom of the stairs until recently.
I am sure that there are more familiar faces throughout my decks. I am convinced that the woman on the Death card in the Ro
hrig is an adaptation of Marilyn Monroe from the film, Gentlemen prefer Blondes. If he's going to include the 'rebel', why not her as well, since the two sit side by side like brother and sister in the Silver Screen hall of fame. I have watched Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend' many times over the years, and recently, watched it again carefully, to see if I could find that pose I recognise in the card. It's the dress in the painting that ticks as many memories as the positioning. I also cast my eye over Material Girl on YouTube, as Madonna's early rendition of the film sequence may very well have been the inspiration. Even though I couldn't come up with that exact shot, I'd say that Madonna's bolshy 'take no prisoners' stance fits the girl in the Death card that bit better than Marilyn's gentle and innocent demeanour.The search goes on.
Illustrations from The Light and Shadow Tarot by Michael Goepferd and Brian Williams, The Rohrig Tarot by Carl W Rohrig, and Adam and Eve by Tamara de Lempicka
Hi P.L.
ReplyDeleteI totally hear what you're saying. I do think it's offensive to rip off someone's work and try to sell it (especially without their permission)...and even though it's inconvenient I do think there's a good reason for copyrights. I've had some issues finding references photos that I like that are public domain. It's a bit frustrating and part of why being an artist is challenging at times--having to be original without copying someone else's work or being incredibly derivative. Le sigh!
Love,
MM