Tarot – Contemporary Magic 78 Cards, 78 Artists

Sasha Graham, Dating Symbol’s resident Tarot expert had the honor of reading Tarot at The National Arts Club at a very special occasion last week. This is her insight into the first ever contemporary art Tarot Deck.

Stacey Engman

Contemporary Arts Curator and visionary Stacy Engman unveiled the first contemporary art Tarot Deck in history. The tarot deck features original artwork from a wide-spread mix of the world’s top creative icons and contemporary artists.

Stacy matched each artist to their cards personally.

Stacy tells Art Info,

“The show is being installed in alphabetical order of the artists and I think that that really does talk about celebrating each individual archetype without emphasizing one element or suit or this or that over another. Because every single card equals vitality and has a life of its own, and they are all interdependent upon one another.”

78 tarot cards, 78 different artists and designers.

• Fearless photographer Stephen Klein was perfectly suited to take on The Moon card.
• Fashion designer Viviene Westwood, responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashion to the mainstream, tackled The Chariot by placing an oozing Pamela Anderson on a golf cart.

Various artists included:

Yoshitomo Nara’s Four of Swords – One of my favorites!

Yoshitomo Nara - Four of Swords

Matthew Ritchie Ace of Wands

Matthew Ritchie‘s explosive Ace of Wands!

Barnaby Furnas - Seven of Wands

Barnaby Furnas’s Seven of Wands

Stacy created two prototype decks to be used to give readings with the night of the opening. Plans for future deck production still are up in the air.

Reading with the new deck was as challenging as it was inspiring. Rather than one artist’s cohesive vision, each card leapt to life with frenetic energy.

“Contemporary Magic” runs in NYC through November 30th, 2010. For curator-led viewings of the Contemporary Magic exhibition, please email contemparts@thenationalartsclub.org.