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Taro As Colour
In 1977, a series of 78 strange enamel works were exhibited in a small gallery in Cornwall. The vibrant images were modestly grouped together in five large frames. For the curious viewer the artist provided a page of explanation, affirming that these ‘psycho-morphological’ studies were, in fact, designs for a Taro. Within a few weeks, the exhibition was gone.
Such was the first and last appearance of Ithell Colquhoun’s revolutionary explorations of the Taro As Colour. The product of a lifetime of esoteric study and art practice, Colquhoun’s bold project seeks to dispense with the figurative narratives of the traditional tarot and re-imagines the forces behind each card as pure colour. Drawing from the pioneering work of Moina Mathers and Florence Farr in the 1890s, Colquhoun integrates the esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn with Surrealist automatic techniques to produce a design for a taro deck that remains unique in Western esotericism. Setting aside the role of the tarot in fortune-telling, through the power of pure colour Colquhoun invites us to reach for transcendence.
Published here as a book for the first time, Taro As Colour draws upon newly commissioned photography to present Colquhoun’s magical designs in vivid colour. Printed using the latest techniques of six-colour offset lithography, the original cards are augmented with gold and silver inks and gloss coated to better emulate the original enamels. Colquhoun’s original essay is also accompanied by a scholarly introduction by Amy Hale, who explores the background, approach and theory behind this extraordinary body of work.
Such was the first and last appearance of Ithell Colquhoun’s revolutionary explorations of the Taro As Colour. The product of a lifetime of esoteric study and art practice, Colquhoun’s bold project seeks to dispense with the figurative narratives of the traditional tarot and re-imagines the forces behind each card as pure colour. Drawing from the pioneering work of Moina Mathers and Florence Farr in the 1890s, Colquhoun integrates the esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn with Surrealist automatic techniques to produce a design for a taro deck that remains unique in Western esotericism. Setting aside the role of the tarot in fortune-telling, through the power of pure colour Colquhoun invites us to reach for transcendence.
Published here as a book for the first time, Taro As Colour draws upon newly commissioned photography to present Colquhoun’s magical designs in vivid colour. Printed using the latest techniques of six-colour offset lithography, the original cards are augmented with gold and silver inks and gloss coated to better emulate the original enamels. Colquhoun’s original essay is also accompanied by a scholarly introduction by Amy Hale, who explores the background, approach and theory behind this extraordinary body of work.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
About the author
Ithell Colquhoun
17 books37 followersBritish surrealist painter and occult author, and the only significant biographer of S.L. MacGregor Mathers.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 8, 2019
Full review on my blog: https://gorgoninfurs.com/2019/10/08/t...
July 11, 2020
Excellent work on Coquhorn's Taro
April 26, 2024
I have been studying the cards for over a decade, starting just before the ‘popwitch’ explosion of late 2010s. I have read (and will continue to read) any serious tarot writing that I can get my hands on.
To harsh the vibe: If it’s about unicorn sparkles, reindeers in sweaters, mating preferences or hexing a former president, sure, there’s a place for those adventures but it is not serious tarot writing. I’m harsh because tarot is too timeless to sacrifice to the trendy.
So here’s something different- a book on an alternative deck painted by a pretty obscure British artist… Nope, not Pamela Coleman Smith. Ithell Colquhoun, who created a full deck’s worth of truly abstract paintings.
Tarot is a map of energy. Colquhoun’s paintings represent that energy, minus the drawbacks of human figures or object depictions. Her use of colour, though up for debate in specifics, depicts energy. Again, energy. Without distracting visuals. This book gives us an opening to this approach.
To harsh the vibe: If it’s about unicorn sparkles, reindeers in sweaters, mating preferences or hexing a former president, sure, there’s a place for those adventures but it is not serious tarot writing. I’m harsh because tarot is too timeless to sacrifice to the trendy.
So here’s something different- a book on an alternative deck painted by a pretty obscure British artist… Nope, not Pamela Coleman Smith. Ithell Colquhoun, who created a full deck’s worth of truly abstract paintings.
Tarot is a map of energy. Colquhoun’s paintings represent that energy, minus the drawbacks of human figures or object depictions. Her use of colour, though up for debate in specifics, depicts energy. Again, energy. Without distracting visuals. This book gives us an opening to this approach.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews