Collaboration | Valya Dudycz Lupescu

In the Cards: The Amanda Palmer Tarot

Posted on 5 August, 2013

For hundreds of years, the Tarot has been used as a system of divination, reflection, storytelling, and inspiration. There are decks inspired by gods and goddesses, decks of cats, decks inspired by fictional worlds like Harry Potter or Star Wars, fairy tale decks and complex metaphysical ones. People are drawn to certain decks because they identify with the imagery or connect with the artwork or theme.

It comes as no surprise that fans of singer Amanda Palmer decided to draw upon the iconography of Amanda’s work, both as a solo artist and member of the Dresden Dolls, to create a Tarot deck.

For those unfamiliar with her work, Amanda’s songs, while fiercely intimate, are also iconic. She sings about abuse, addiction, abortion, heartache, love, abandon, regret, and hope; and her songs give voice to the dreams and fears of fans around the world. That would be enough to endear Amanda to her fans, but she takes it further to connect with them on a personal level at shows, ninja gigs, and online. Amanda opens herself up, and people often walk away saying that the experiences were intimate, inspirational, and transformative.

That is what the Amanda Palmer Tarot is about: Intimacy. Inspiration. Transformation.

When Madeline C. Matz, told me she was going to take the collaborative deck to Kickstarter, to use the crowd funding tool for preorder and distribution of the tarot deck and to pay the 78 artists involved, it made perfect sense. Collaboration brought the deck into existence; collaboration would get it produced.

***UPDATE: The Tarot was fully funded within 24-hours of launching the Kickstarter Campaign, but you can still order a deck until September 3, 2013!***

At its heart, the Amanda Palmer Tarot is a one-of-kind creative collaboration, a tribute deck featuring the work of 78 different artists, including Molly Crabapple, Kyle Cassidy, Walter Sickert, Kristina Carroll, Zelda Devon, Katelan V. Foisy, and more. Even fans unfamiliar with Tarot as a system of divination can enjoy the beauty of the unique cards inspired by all-things-Amanda.

Tarot is like a mosaic or patchwork of our lives at any given moment. People look at the cards to gain insight, to glean something new, to be challenged, to connect with a larger picture. (Interesting that those are some of the same reasons we encounter art.)

It will be interesting to find out what Tarot readers will think of the Amanda Palmer Tarot, because of course, the cards are sexy, symbolic, and provocative.

But then again, Art should provoke, and Tarot should provoke. Any deck inspired by Amanda would have to be provocative, and I think that translates into a beautiful and powerful collection of cards.

There are also Facebook and tumblr pages highlighting the artwork, and a twitter account: @afptarot

Check it out and spread the word.

Aren’t you curious to find out what you’ll see in the cards?

Conglomerations and Creative Ripples

Posted on 23 January, 2012

Some moments make creative ripples in the Universe.

They may be quiet affairs of a half dozen or less people. They may be large gatherings, well-publicized and documented for posterity. Sometimes all we have are whispers, hints of an evening in letters and diaries.

• In the 1930s, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and the other “Inklings” met on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College. They also met on Tuesday nights at the Eagle and Child pub (affectionately known as the “Bird and Baby”) in a private back room for conversation and drinks.

• In Paris in the early 1900s , Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo hosted Saturday night dinner parties at their home. On any given Saturday, Picasso, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemmingway, Alice B. Toklas, and others gathered.

• In Taos, New Mexico, Mabel Dodge Luhan and her husband welcomed poets and writers into their home for the second half of the twentieth century. Their guests included D. H. Lawrence, Ansel Adams, Willa Cather, Georgia O’Keeffe, and more.

• The Algonquin Round Table was the infamous setting for the wisecracks and witticisms of Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, and 24 other members.

• On June 11, 1965, American and European beat poets performed at the Royal Albert Hall for an impromptu event – the International Poetry Incarnation – that some argued marked the birth of London’s gestating counterculture.

Creative ripples.

Gene Wolfe bw — Sketch of Gene Wolfe by Murray Ewing

On March 17, 2012, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will present its first-ever Fuller Award to Gene Wolfe, a brilliant writer whose work engages the imaginations of readers all over the world.

At the Sanfilippo Estate, guests are coming from all over the country to honor Gene Wolfe. In attendance will be: Neil Gaiman, Peter Sagal, Gary K. Wolfe, Audrey Niffenegger, Peter Straub, Michael Swanwick, Michael Dirda, Luis Urrea, and more.

There will be writers, artists, dancers, musicians, photographers, journalists, chefs, knitters, sculptors, and patrons from around Chicago—steampunk to hippy, gothic to folk, some in college and others well into their retirement. It’s going to be an incredible gathering of creative people, and you are invited.

When people talk about the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s first Fuller Award Ceremony, will you be able to recount your memory of Gene Wolfe receiving the award statue from Neil Gaiman? Or share a snippet of your conversation over the sweet table with one of your favorite living writers? Or recall the moving speeches and witty toasts given by some of Gene’s closest friends?

When people talk about an Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe at the steampunk mansion with the living marionettes and Gene’s words brought to life on stage and accompanied by the world’s largest restored five manual Mighty Wurlitzer, will you be able to say that you were there?

I hope you will.

Because like the musical machines collected by Jasper Sanfilippo at his “Place de la Musique,” this event is made more remarkable by the diversity of its parts, an audience coming together not only to honor a brilliant writer, but also to celebrate the whimsy and delight of art and imagination.

Join us for an evening that is sure to be wonder-filled.

Retaliation?

Posted on 6 July, 2009

My relationship with technology has always been precarious (all the more interesting that I married a computer programmer). Things technological break down or function oddly around me. I’ve often speculated that nefarious powers were behind it.

When my Kyle Cassidy Collaboration partner Ember and I put our heads together, we created the Snafoo mythos to reveal the technomagical gremlins behind most of the world’s technological woes.

However, ever since we started this collaboration project and website, the tech-pranks have been increasing in frequency around me.

Last week my computer began playing a song I had never heard before. I shut all my browsers and programs, and the song kept playing. Just as I was going to shut down my Mac, the song stopped and vanished without a trace.

This past weekend, every atm machine that I visited was broken and gave me odd messages like: check health, notify attendant. This week my batteries are dying, even the new ones I just installed.

I think that the Snafoo are a wee bit upset that we’re calling them out! I’m a bit nervous of what they may have in store (so I’m backing up my files and printing out manuscripts, just in case).