seven stars
no but I might mail out just the new ones to whoever is interested.
TAROT Deck - Completely Revised Sola Busca from XV Century
MoonGypsy
seven stars
MoonGypsy
Very Cool! i just saw my special DOB backs in your Etsy shoppe[which look even better in person] #21
rylla
Superb!
giordanoberti
Input?
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am a big fun of the Sola Busca deck. But I couldn't really read with it because of the majors. I am so excited to have a Sola Busca revised that I can read with! Hopefully I'll be holding one in my hands soon
When I see a deck of Tarot cards "revisited" I always wonder: "why this deck was revisited?". Of course I'm going to see how the deck has changed; What are the changes, which symbols were cancelled and which were inserted.
Sometimes I understand that new deck out from the hands of the artist is a purely aesthetic work, i.e. the design was rebuilt but respecting the original work. This we can see, for example, the Sola-Busca Tarot published by Lo Scarabeo around 1995, or even in the Thoth Tarot of Aleister Crowley published around 1998, also from Lo Scarabeo.
There are also dozens, maybe hundreds of versions "revisited" in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot; most of these are absolutely faithful to the original ... and it is right, because removing or adding symbols you change the meaning of the work.
Revisiting a Tarot deck may be right, some perspective; Firstly because we value freedom of thought of each artist, or because a serious occultist knew how to enhance some detail that the original work was overlooked.
What is not right, however, is call Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck that has been revised radically. Even in this case we think the freedom of each artist, but nevertheless we must denounce its intellectual dishonesty, his "play dirty" to earn effortless on the work done by others.
It is not a matter of "purism" but about intellectual honesty.
Here, we can say that a revised Tarot deck is often intellectually dishonest and dirty in its realization.
Among the latter (intellectually dishonest and dirty Tarots) we need to put the so-called "Sola-Busca Tarot revisited" by tarotbyseven. It is a work that perverts the sense of original work and, what is worse, is absolutely void of philosophical meanings. New details were added only with the presumption to give an aesthetic to revisit and also to allow the deck to be used in Cartomancy ... but this is absolutely insane!
The artist (let's call it so), because it does not know the meaning of the original images has sought to turn to his pleasure not to make them understandable, but to accommodate unique iconography that he knows. For example, in the Triumph 6 is missing a female to make it resemble the lovers card? No problem: just cut a female any and paste it over the original ... here's the lovers card that will make the deck understandable to anyone. This is not making art and not the spirit of the true esoteric (whether they are fortune tellers, astrologers, alchemists, cabalists, etc).
The Sola-Busca Tarot revisited "by tarotbyseven is a pathetic, dirty meaningless patchwork. Nobody can say that I exaggerate. No one says that they are a "purist". The artist himself says that the 78 cards have "bastardized". He's right ... in the worst sense of the term.
trzes
Since seven stars calls her deck bastardized herself quite frankly (as you have noted yourself) I don't see why there should be any "intellectual dishonesty" in her work.
I perfectly understand that the "Revised" version doesn't appeal to you as you wrote a whole book on the original Sola Busca Tarot. And it's true, the "Revised" shows little interest in the original symbolism and philosophical background. But that is a matter of purity indeed. And it is an issue that is rather personal to you.
Your attempt to blow up your personal issue to a general moral matter has a somehow nasty smell. To put things straight: There is no limitation to art expect for respecting other artist's copyright. And there is no authority to declare what deserves to be called art an what doesn't. Honesty is a good thing indeed. Seven stars has been perfectly honest about what she does. There are no copyright issues with the original work. Everything else is a matter of taste only. And luckily so. Otherwise Pam Coleman Smith wouldn't have bastardized the Marseille trumps for the RWS. And we all would still stick to the style of medieval church paintings and the strict limitation to what we are allowed to depict.
Personally I find 80% of the artwork I see meaningless and superfluous. Still I would spare the terms "dirty" and "pervert" for some badly drawn and ugly hardcore porn for example.
rwcarter
Moderator Note
Before this escalates, please keep discussion on the deck itself. Comments about the deck are welcome. Comments about the author and/or about others who have posted in the thread won't be tolerated. No posts have been removed yet though.
Before this escalates, please keep discussion on the deck itself. Comments about the deck are welcome. Comments about the author and/or about others who have posted in the thread won't be tolerated. No posts have been removed yet though.
seven stars
This comment may get deleted, but I hope it's ok to say that never in my wildest dreams would I have ever, ever thought that anything that I did would get the slightest notice by anyone of importance, certainly not Giordano Berti of all people - I am completely humbled & honored that he would have done anything but laugh & toss my projects to the side - like I've said so many times, I'm not a professional at this, I'm a street reader in Omaha who just wanted decks I could actually read with using the Rider Waite system, not a historian at all. In fact, I have said many times that any true tarot historian would be mortified at what I've done and look at what a great fortune teller I was - I actually mortified one of the most respected men in his field! This is bigger to me than when I got kicked out of art school when I was 19.
The original Sola Busca is probably the coolest work of art in Tarot I ever saw. Completely un-useable for me personally, but I wanted to use it so bad. I read what were supposed to be the meanings of the original cards, & although I got it, I still wanted what I wanted which was the Rider Waite system (which the original SB wasn't). I would never get used to the ten of swords being the ten of wands. I can appreciate the 9 of coins being luxury attained at the expense of the common man but it was pretty harsh, but then, so was Strength. And so many warriors. And once I did what I did, the dirty, terrible deed, what to call it? I could have called it Sola Busca's Bastard Son but I didn't really want people think I was all hung up on the Bastard thing. I couldn't exactly leave Sola Busca out of it.
Anyway....to Mr Berti & all the others who I sincerely appreciate for being truly sophisticated, educated & pure historians and lovers of the arts, my most profound & sincere apologies for doing what I do. To be honest, from the beginning I have been surprised I haven't gotten this reaction tenfold from the entire tarot community. But for those who did get them & like them....I like them too & I'm really glad people have been so kind about what I've done & keep asking for more stuff.
The original Sola Busca is probably the coolest work of art in Tarot I ever saw. Completely un-useable for me personally, but I wanted to use it so bad. I read what were supposed to be the meanings of the original cards, & although I got it, I still wanted what I wanted which was the Rider Waite system (which the original SB wasn't). I would never get used to the ten of swords being the ten of wands. I can appreciate the 9 of coins being luxury attained at the expense of the common man but it was pretty harsh, but then, so was Strength. And so many warriors. And once I did what I did, the dirty, terrible deed, what to call it? I could have called it Sola Busca's Bastard Son but I didn't really want people think I was all hung up on the Bastard thing. I couldn't exactly leave Sola Busca out of it.
Anyway....to Mr Berti & all the others who I sincerely appreciate for being truly sophisticated, educated & pure historians and lovers of the arts, my most profound & sincere apologies for doing what I do. To be honest, from the beginning I have been surprised I haven't gotten this reaction tenfold from the entire tarot community. But for those who did get them & like them....I like them too & I'm really glad people have been so kind about what I've done & keep asking for more stuff.
rylla
I respect your opinion that you consider this deck a "a pathetic, dirty meaningless patchwork. " , although I think it would've been much nicer and much more respectful to the other person and her work if you would have just said: 'I don't like it'. We would all get that.
I voted this deck in AT 2014 as the "All time favorite" deck for me, for a couple of reasons.
As trzes mentioned it too, it's a matter of taste. And no one's is more worthy than the other's.
