The first card I drew from it was Joseph Beuys - who I admit I had never heard of before. The picture shows a figure wrapped in a felt blanket, with a hare, a wolf and a ladder. The words read:
- Life: You also contribute to humanity's Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art)
- Work: Make sure your rabies shots are up to date
- Inspiration: Symbolism is just one ambulance ride away.
That's all a little weird, isn't it? The guide that comes with the set offers a bit more information about the artist. Apparently he claimed that "as a WWII fighter bomber he crashed in the Crimean Mountains, where nomadic tartars covered his freezing body with animal fat and felt" to save his life. He did crash, but the rest of it was made up. It seems he developed an artform from mixing fiction with fact, especially in terms of the stories he told about his life. He also claimed to be a shaman.
My own personal view is that while making up fake life stories and claiming to be a shaman might have seemed interesting and edgy back in the 1960s and 70s, nowadays it makes me feel uncomfortable. There's just too many fake news stories, fake life histories, and fake shamans around. While I applaud the concept that we can all contribute to humanity's totality of art, I think we also need to be aware of the constant fakery around us.
Lots of other famous and infamous artists are depicted in Art Oracles, from Leonardo da Vinci, to William Blake, Frida Kahlo, Tracey Emin, and Damien Hirst. This deck is humorous, entertaining, and informative. I really like it.
You can view Art Oracles on Amazon.
(Please note I earn commission from some links)
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http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/08/tarot-for-day-9-of-winter-from-animal.html
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http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/06/divination-five-of-arrows-from-wildwood.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/05/divination-knave-of-diamonds-from-aos.html
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