Thoughts on The Ghetto Tarot?

There are plenty of decks with misleading names. Illuminati comes to mind--the word is almost inevitably identified not with a verb for "enlightenment" but with the occult Illuminati group(s). There are Renaissance decks with no hint of Renaissance, not very "Celtic" tarots, etc.

In my view, tarot hinges on communication, and at the very least, getting your tarot deck in the hands of the public requires communicating effectively with potential buyers. To provoke a dialog or raise consciousness you need a title that makes sense to people, that engages their interest and imagination. It sounds like the deck is not intended primarily for a Haitian market who might recognize the

... "Ghetto Biennale", which is an invitation by Atis Rezistans to visiting Western and non-Western artists to come to Haiti and create art in collaboration with them to produce a show at the end.

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I wish them good luck with it, whatever the title.

I think that depends on how one sees a deck as product, and whether it is the same as any other product. Artists give their works, and consequently decks, all kinds of names that may or may not have anything to do with the work in question. Often the name of a work serves as a jumping-off point for one's appreciation of a work. Sometimes the name can be misleading intentionally. In essence, The Name of the Rose has nothing to do with roses. The Three Musketeers is actually about the fourth. Moby Dick is actually a collection of whaling anecdotes meant to veil homosexual smut stories (okay, in that case, the name fits).

But there are other products that do not qualify as strictly art, and then their names are judged to a different standard. Were Apple to come out with a brand-new iMac Ghetto©, then that would certainly count as being offensive and insensitive. It would be a cynical ploy by a terrible company just to make money. I don't see that as being the case here, and I don't see Tarot decks being in the same product category as computers.

Debra said:

There are plenty of decks with misleading names. Illuminati comes to mind--the word is almost inevitably identified not with a verb for "enlightenment" but with the occult Illuminati group(s). There are Renaissance decks with no hint of Renaissance, not very "Celtic" tarots, etc.

In my view, tarot hinges on communication, and at the very least, getting your tarot deck in the hands of the public requires communicating effectively with potential buyers. To provoke a dialog or raise consciousness you need a title that makes sense to people, that engages their interest and imagination. It sounds like the deck is not intended primarily for a Haitian market who might recognize the


I wish them good luck with it, whatever the title.

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I've backed it; I think as a deck it is a good idea, and I like the look of it a lot. It is unfortunate that various words have different connotations all over the world. I don't know how one gets around that as a general thing; I wish she had actually CALLED it Ghetto Biennale. That would immediately take away most of the instant feel of the word, which is kind of the problem, isn't it ?

But I am reminded of that toilet roll called Shitbegone... and the fizzy drink called Zit. And Golden Gay icecream.

There are so VERY many more. I even own a DELIBERATELY named insect repellent (very effective !) called Buggeroff

ETA OMG I have just found a tea called Placenta and a drink called Coolpis....

gregory said:

I wish she had actually CALLED it Ghetto Biennale.

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Has a nicer ring to it, but it's like doing the Disney version of Silence of the Lambs?!

gregory said:

But I am reminded of that toilet roll called Shitbegone... and the fizzy drink called Zit. And Golden Gay icecream.

There are so VERY many more. I even own a DELIBERATELY named insect repellent (very effective !) called Buggeroff

ETA OMG I have just found a tea called Placenta and a drink called Coolpis....

Click to expand...

*wipes the tears from eyes* I nearly herniated something.

Given the imagery, it was a bad idea to call the deck the Ghetto Deck. Quite unimaginative.

I would just like to point out that NO ONE is required to purchase anything that they find offensive - real or imagined - for any reason whatsoever. It's not like US Games is recalling all the RWS decks to destroy them to replace it with this deck.

Your wallet and your feet are attached ... shop freely ...

I am inclined to agree with those who felt that creator might not realize that it such a loaded term in parts of the world. Intentions seem to have been good.

Ghetto Tarot

Yeah, some of these photos do really catch my eye! But I've got to agree with the multitude of comments on the page about postcolonialism and cultural appropriation. Seems pretty objectifying to me.

Smeets's slightly unorthodox journey to becoming the pro photographer she is today was interesting--her apprenticeship to her mentor who passed on so soon, etc. But the project itself seems off to me.

Photography decks also aren't really my bag but the compositions are pretty nice, so I'll give props for that at least! But it's absolutely not something that is getting my support.

I love the look of the tarot, but am completely turned off by the name.

When I hear "ghetto", nothing cool or glamorous comes to mind. I think Jewish ghettos and the Holocaust. I think of the Great Migration in the U.S. when a million black people moved out of the South to escape its racism, settling into neighbourhoods that we still call ghettos.

I've read her statement on why they're calling it the Ghetto Tarot and I think she is either naive, misguided, or full of shit. It will provoke discussion alright, but what else does it accomplish? How does it stop people from ignoring poverty? How will it improve life for the people of Haiti? How will it do anything other than make her money while using colonialism and controversy as a vehicle?

Ironically there actually is a "real" Ghetto Tarot, or rather "Holocaust concentration camp Tarot." It is the Kobe Tarot, made by a political prisoner and survivor of Allach (sadly it is not for sale). The two decks are not the same, but serve a similar purpose, to show people in difficult situations they can't get out of. One comes from an insider and is perhaps more heartfelt while the purpose of the other is perhaps to shock and draw attention to something in a deliberate fashion.

Can anyone give me an example of provocative art that they "approve" of? Does that not in itself devalue the provocative aspect, effectively castrating it? Can you give me an example of disturbing art that nobody would consider tasteless?

Remember that the artist is not subject to the same moral codes that the producer of a product is. If anyone is offended by art, then the artist has created something worthwhile. The most terrible thing an artist can do is provoke apathy.