Departures Tarot

HOW IT STARTED

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, you wouldn’t expect that I’d have much exposure to visual art. However, one of the city’s best-kept secrets, the St. Louis Art Museum, houses some of the world’s most influential paintings, sculptures, and ancient masterpieces. The museum also holds an extensive collection of works by Max Beckmann, a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor active during the early 1900s.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Beckmann’s paintings had a significant impact on me as a child. I’m not sure if it was his expressive use of thick black lines, the exaggeration of the human form, or his intense use of color, but his work spoke to me. It was the first time I understood that art didn’t need to be pretty, or even perfect, to be powerful.

Beckmann’s art was driven by a movement born out of the harsh realities of post-war Germany. New Objectivity emerged in the 1920s as a reaction against the overly romantic beauty of Expressionism. Instead, it embraced a raw, unvarnished approach, depicting the gritty aftermath of World War I. Artists like Beckmann, Otto Dix, and George Grosz, focused on themes of corruption, poverty, and the disillusionment of modern life. Their work mixed realism with satire, delivering bold and honest commentaries on the politics and social issues of the time.

One of Beckmann’s more notable paintings, Departures (1932), served as the inspiration for naming this deck, while his earlier works from the early 1920s served as the visual inspiration. 

Creating this deck now feels especially fitting, as it’s hard to ignore the parallels between today’s social, political, and economic uncertainties and the events of a century ago.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

After the successful funding of my last project, The Haptic Tarot, I was sure I’d take a breather before creating another deck. But clearly, I was wrong.

In looking at the current state of the world, I couldn’t help but recall my love for the New Objectivity movement. Those reflections sparked a desire to tinker again with the powerful application of artificial intelligence. Like my previous deck, each piece of artwork in Departures Tarot began with generative AI but was then heavily manipulated and edited to align with my overall vision. I spent quite a bit of time refining details, adjusting compositions, and enhancing colors to create something deeply personal.

After completing the artwork, I shifted my focus to the overall design of the cards and the box. Drawing inspiration from the German Institute for Standardization (Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V., or DIN), known for its precision and technical standards, I aimed to bring the same level of detail to every element beyond the artwork. This approach not only contrasted with the expressiveness of the images but also enhanced them, creating a balance between expression and structure in the final deck.

The Departures Tarot marks a dramatically new creative journey for me—one that blends my love for a niche yet significant movement in art history with an unfamiliar aesthetic rich in grit, texture, and immediacy.

THE DECK

While the artwork of Departures Tarot is based on the traditional images of the Rider-Waite-Smith system, it includes several visual 'departures' that highlight the liminality of life and, in turn, the Tarot.

In most of the cards, you can see ghostlike figures, disembodied appendages, and other human-like forms in the artwork. This choice stems from one of my core beliefs about the cards: Tarot not only reveals where you are going but also where you have been. Many approach the cards as a means to “see the future”, often forgetting that the answers they seek sometimes lie behind them in their past. By including hints of additional human forms, I wanted to evoke a sense of connection to past experiences, suggesting that our histories are always intertwined with our present and future journeys.

As mentioned, the Departures Tarot draws on the overlaps between today's uncertainties and the post-war strife of nearly 100 years ago. Similarly, Tarot highlights moments in our past to influence and protect our future.

THE DETAILS:
  - 78 original cards + 1 custom Major Arcana card printed on 350gsm german black-core paper with UV coating and a linen finish (contains a certificate of authenticity)
  - Each card measures 7.5 x 13cm
  - 36-page guidebook
  - Premium quality 2-part box with an anti-scratch matte finish