The Cultural Revolution Tarot introduction plus Giveaway

[James Battersby]

My latest Tarot, the Cultural Revolution is based on/inspired by the propaganda posters of the Mao era in China. It's a lot of fun drawing this tarot, while my partner Christine (who some may know previously as Luciferous Vociferous) combines her knowledge of the Tarot with her long held interest in Maoism.

There are a lot of cute cards in the deck, with children playing with pandas or flying in rocket ships and all kinds of funny scenarios. Then there is the harsher side to the deck with the five of pentacles showing more than just spiritual starvation, but the very real true life event of the famine which killed millions during the cultural revolution. Some of the images might seem Anti-American, in particular, Strength, The Devil and the Ten of Swords, but i can assure that both my partner and i are not Anti-American. Instead we are keeping with the theme of the Cultural Revolution and this was really about the Chinese trying to remove Imperialism (which also included Britain and Japan). The deck is still a work in progress.

We're giving away a set of 5 prints over on our Facebook page. If you'd like to be entered, please either like or share the post that was posted on November 18th which first mentions the giveaway of the 5 prints. (we had to do this due to the huge number of people who've liked the page. Rather than pick from the over 800 people who like the page, we wanted to make it a bit more manageable. It also makes more sense to enter those who actually want to be entered into the competition, rather than giving away prints to someone who could give or take them.

https://www.facebook.com/TheCulturalRevolutionTarot?ref=hl

Winner will be picked at random. Included in the giveaway is the "Psychedelic Empress" (a test picture James and i were working on, and a one of its kind).

These are A3 (297mm x 420mm) prints on coated poster paper, unframed. Each poster will be signed by both author and artist. Winner will be announced on the first week of December.
Good Luck

 

[gregory]

So those of us not on FB can't enter. Pity, that

 

[stellar4]

Yes, its a real shame - I would have liked to have entered too. Not everyone wants to be on FB.

 

[Zephyros]

In defense of Facebook contests and the like, the site has over a billion users now. It is neither niche nor something that will simply vanish. In fact, it is quickly reaching the status of a utility or the Yellow Pages. It, or other sites like it, are here to stay, much like those new horeseless carriages I've been hearing about.

ETA: As for the deck itself it looks nice, but I do have a certain problem with it. With all due respect, there are people still alive who went through the CR, and it was among the most difficult and at times horrific times for China. I mean... really... what's next, a Khmer Rouge Tarot?

Millions of people were persecuted in the violent struggles that ensued across the country, and suffered a wide range of abuses including public humiliation, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, sustained harassment, and seizure of property. A large segment of the population was forcibly displaced, most notably the transfer of urban youth to rural regions during the Down to the Countryside Movement. Historical relics and artifacts were destroyed. Cultural and religious sites were ransacked.

Heck, the Communist Party itself eventually admitted it wasn't such a good idea.

 

[James Battersby]

... or we could just draw fairies again. That's safe lol

 

[rwcarter]

Moderator Note

Some off-topic posts concerning Facebook have been removed from this thread. Please keep posts on the topic of the deck and/or giveaway and not on the value or efficacy of Facebook. Posts expressing disappointment in not being able to enter the giveaway because one isn't on Facebook have been left though.

 

[jillkite]

... or we could just draw fairies again. That's safe lol

That is such a flippant reply to the very valid issue that Closrapexa has raised.

I would really like you to explain how you can make a cutesy tarot about something as dark and repressive for spirituality and self-expression as the Cultural Revolution was.

Why isn't this a dark deck?
How would you feel about presenting this deck to a group of Tibetan people?

If you are going to make a tarot like this about a subject like that it would be reassuring to think you'd considered this subject (the history of the Cultural Revolution and it's after effects today) in a deeper way than you've demonstrated so far.

At the moment I'm REALLY hoping that people won't buy your deck and that Aeclectic will veto it. But maybe you've got something a bit less flippant to say to tell your side of the story?

 

[earthair]

Why isn't this a dark deck?

Apparently this is his 'reasoning' - along the lines of Mao did a few good things, so we'll forget all the bad things and call them unfortunate planning. [Blogpost April 28th] https://culturalrevolutiontarot.wordpress.com/2015/04/

At the end of the day, the real question has to be 'why is this a tarot deck?'

 

[GlitterNova]

Sorry, but this is not a deck I can support. I would caution anyone thinking about supporting this deck to do thorough research on the actual cultural and human toll of the Cultural Revolution.

Millions of people in China were violently persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Those identified as spies, "running dogs", "revisionists", or coming from a suspect class (including those related to former landlords or rich peasants) were subject to beating, imprisonment, rape, torture, sustained and systematic harassment and abuse, seizure of property, denial of medical attention, and erasure of social identity. At least hundreds of thousands of people were murdered, starved, or worked to death. Millions more were forcibly displaced. Young people from the cities were forcibly moved to the countryside, where they were forced to abandon all forms of standard education in place of the propaganda teachings of the Communist Party of China.

I'd much rather have another fairy deck than that.

 

[FLizarraga]

... or we could just draw fairies again. That's safe lol

May I ask why do you feel that drawing fairies is "safer," Mr. Battersby? Do you think the government is going to crack down on us if we don't?

I'm afraid you have it backwards, Mr. Battersby: Mao's government is the one who would have done that --and the current Chinese government still does. Here we are just freely expressing our opinions, whatever they may be.