The secrets of the image of arcana for artists and not only (+ 100% upvote for the first winner every day untill next Monday)

in #art7 years ago (edited)

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Today I start a new series of cognitive posts. This time I invite artists. As I said, my hobby is Tarot cards. Perhaps some of you have read my notes on the philosophy of major arcanes. But now I want to talk about something else. I drew attention to the fact that the image of Tarot Arcana is widely used in art and even fashion. Here you can find also amazing photos of the appropriate subjects.  Tarot Major Arcana in Photographs

Recently, a wonderful video from fashion week appeared on the Internet, which you can see at the end of this post. 

All this can be explained very easy. The Tarot theme is interesting, and the cards themselves are unusually beautiful. The temptation to use them as an object for inspiration is great enough. In addition, we can talk about this from a pragmatic point of view, because the cards themselves are expensive, besides the images for meditation are also in demand. 

 But as in the numerous decks, and in the pictures on the theme of Tarot Arcana, I often see inconsistencies with the recognized canons. Someone can say: what's the difference? Why cannot I draw a young pregnant woman against the background of nature and call her a major tarot Arcana the Empress? I will try to give you a simple example. In Peterhof there is a fountain "Samson tearing the jaws of a lion". 

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  Once @inber said to me: "You know, but it can not be Samson." And she was absolutely right. Let's remember the legend of Samson. 

According to the biblical account, which describes him as having taken vows as a Nazirite, Samson was given immense strength to aid him against his enemies and allow him to perform glorious feats, such as quickly killing a lion, slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple of the Philistines with his bare hands. However, if Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson 

 «If Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength»... 

  It would seem that the author of the sculpture very slightly changed Samson's appearance and ... he ceased to correspond to the legend. And here is another Samson image for comparison.    

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For the one who remembers the legend, the difference is obvious.

 Absolutely the same thing happens with the image of Arcana Tarot. I found this picture on the Internet.    

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This painting is for sale. But will somebody want to buy it?  At first glance, it is no different from the images of the major arcana the Lovers, which we see in the tarot cards. Unless people are dressed in more modern clothes. But this is not so. There is only one small detail that completely distorts the meaning of the arcana.    

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The same can be said about this work.

  What I want to say. There is a creative imagination of the artist, but there are certain canons that need to be followed so that your works can be appreciated by people who understand the subject matter. For this it is necessary to have at least a minimal idea of each arcana and its symbolism. 

I invite you to a fascinating journey through the arcanes of the Tarot, to learn their meaning and symbolism. I will not teach you to read tarot cards! We will consider them from the point of view of the correctness of their image, as, for example, you get acquainted with the content of a legend or a fairy tale before depicting its heroes. I hope that you will enjoy this journey. 

Every Monday I will offer you to consider the image of one arcana. I also invite you to ask your questions in the comments. 

The one who can tell what mistakes are in the last two images will receive from me 100% me every day for one post a day until the following Monday.


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well, in the first image there is a "menage a trois", it seems: three people and a Eros angel, instead of a couple and a angel. Three people is not harmony, it's conflict.
there is also a bear in the corner. :)
in the second image there is a woman and a lion. no couple man-female and no angel. and they fight, which is not in the meaning of the "Lovers" card.

If you do not mind, I'll help a little. The first image is the Lovers. In the Papus Tarot system it means "choice". For the tip I offer this image. I think you can easily find a mistake now:)

Thank you, Alex, you are right. So, I also want to help Paolo. The second picture is the Strength. Error - in the "character" of the image :) The right picture is here

But we still have not the complete answer:)

Lovely art.You deserve for vote.Please check my post.

interesting!! thanks for sharing!

I love your posts about this subject and I have been working on something involving Tarot in my head for a very long time. I think it is getting close to being time to reveal my ideas. Your thoughts, research and knowledge has been super inspirational to this project.

I have a feeling you still have a role to play as well. We will see!

The real reason I stopped in today was to make sure you see the following post. It reminded me of you guys and I thought you would enjoy it. I tagged your account all over this page today. I posted an image there of a new comic book illustration for The Lovers too. I will probably review that piece later this week.

Take care, and enjoy!

https://steemit.com/life/@reinhard-schmid/temple-of-the-secrets

Oh, thank you for this! It's really amazing!

Well, first of all, you got me scared to show you my Tarot... I can already see you ripping it apart :-/

Why?!! I'm sure it's great! In addition, I expect you to criticize my work :)

Hahaha... ok, we'll see ;-) :-)

Can't say much about the two cards in question, except for the first turning me off big time just for the poor quality of it. It also doesn't look like "decision" to me... more like "deception".

Sorry for my limited language, I'm German..

My interpretation of "Force" is very different. I always liked the Jungian approach of taming ones own "inner monster" lovingly and learn to accept it as a part of the self.. therefore I'd find at least the whip unnecessary.

What I like very much about your post is, that its not about reading the cards. I learned how to do it, but I found that to have a negative effect on my intuition.

I had, what was in my eyes a very good teacher for learning to understand the cards. Hajo Banzhaf also taught me to see this sequence of 22 pictures as a journey... somehow our soul traveling through its lifetime on earth... (very short version ;-) )

And again you are right! In the Lovers there really is a theme of deceit. Dark-haired girl promises a lot and it seems that she is open, but it is not true. We often see this in advertising :) And I also agree with your interpretation of the Strength. If more broadly - it's about the spiritual and animal part of ourselves. Tarot is a philosophy, a way of self-knowledge :)

Agree completely!

When will you disclose the correct answers?

On Monday:) We'll speak about the Magician and say the right answers. But in fact you've already answered the second (about the Strength)

Yay! Now you sparked my ambition with the other one.

OK, its not the bear and not the bad use of light I suppose.

Must be the cupid, shooting dead the guy's wife, so he can take off with a more fun chick.... ???

You are very close to the answer! But the angel does not aim at the girls. By the way, these girls are just symbols of right and wrong choice, and not people. Where and when will the angel shoot? If you find the answer to this question, you will immediately find the error of the artist :)

Was being a bit funny last night and I think it was my last comment before I went to bed.

This one is a tough nut to crack, since my approach was a very different one:

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"Decision of the heart"

I know that concept of the right and wrong choice, which gives it a... how can I say... dramatic note. Always made me feel a bit uneasy. I believe, following your hart makes it right anyways.

So, is it the angel aiming at the "woman/option" and not the person making the decision in the middle like in most other decks with this approach?

It is gorgeous! So tender and romantic:) This is another concept of the Lovers. It is also correct and it is really primarily about love, not choice. The artist I show has chosen the Papus system, where the Lovers means first of all a choice. And he drew an angel wrong :) He aims in the direction where the young man will go if he makes the r i g h t choice!

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