Pictorial Key
Computer-generated art deck evoking Shrek-like aesthetics and contemporary style.
by Giordano Berti, Davide Corsi · 2008
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The record
When I first saw this deck I thought 'oh no, another computer generated set!'. The artwork made me think of the Shrek movies! I'm a bit of a tarot purist I suppose, and prefer historical and traditional decks to the influx of art decks that are everywhere now, (that's not to say I don't like them by the way) BUT this deck really does have something special about it. Obviously it's based on the famous Rider-Waite deck, and its pictorial rather than pip which is great for beginners. The art work is so incredibly 3D it compels you to stare into it, and the flat 2D Coleman Smith drawings suddenly spring to a new 21st century life. Only a few changes have been made from the original. For example the 4 of Swords in the Rider-Waite deck shows a knight in armour lying flat on a tomb, and this new image is of someone kneeling beside the tomb with their arms resting on it. The images aren't trying to re-work the traditional symbology - it's just bringing the instantly recognisable characters bang up to date. You feel as though you're walking around a mediaeval film set and taking photographs as the cameras are rolling. It's bizarre..! If you like to meditate/pathwork with the Tarot, then you
The cards
