Tarot and Other Meditation Decks
History, Theory, Aesthetics, Typology
$39.95
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About the Book
Hundreds of new Tarot decks have been produced in the late twentieth century, many of them based on the structure and images of Arthur Waite and artist Pamela Smith’s Rider-Waite deck (1910). The continuing popularity and influence of the Rider-Waite deck makes it a standard for identifying, categorizing and analyzing contemporary Tarot and other meditation decks.
This work of art history analyzes such decks in relation to conventional art styles and movements, including Symbolism, Surrealism, the modernist “grid” and the low/high value hierarchy, and postmodern art movements and concepts such as the dissolution of the modernist value hierarchy, Pattern and Decoration art, and collage. It also examines them in relation to literary concepts, including the novel, utopias, and popular genres. The author’s analysis is supported by numerous illustrations, including the Rider-Waite major arcana cards juxtaposed with examples of their counterparts from more recent decks.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Emily E. Auger
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: 156 photos, tables, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1674-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8304-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1. Tarot and Visual Art 13
2. Tarot and Literature 53
3. Tarot as Tarot 89
Conclusion 143
Notes 147
Tarot Decks Cited 161
Meditation Decks Cited 167
Appendix 169
Bibliography 193
Index 205
Book Reviews & Awards
“a unique and specialized art history…unusual, fascinating, seminal, and very highly recommended”—Midwest Book Review.