New York artist, Francesco Clemente, has created a set of 78 mixed media Tarot images featuring drawings of well-known people who are among his personal friends as described by Calvin Tompkins in The New Yorker. It will be shown at the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence opening in September. Edward Albee sat for the Emperor, Salman Rushdie is the King of Swords while Scarlett Johansson is the Queen, Jasper Johns is the Pope. Clemente, himself, is the Fool. See a sampling of the images here.
TuscanyPass.com has this to say about the exhibit: “The portraits of the exponents of a cosmopolitan cultural community, inserted into the allegorical illustrations of the Astral bodies, the Virtues and the Triumphs, bring together the new and the old continents in a play of glances orchestrated by the artist, who portrays himself in the arcana of the Fool.”
[Thanks to The Wild Hunt, for the heads-up.]
Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me
Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog 
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August 23, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Pamela Jones
This is so cool! Two of my favorite things–Tarot and The New Yorker. I always get my magazine a couple of weeks late (I think the mail-lady takes them home first) so I wouldn’t have known about this for a while. Thanks for the heads up, Mary.
August 23, 2011 at 10:57 pm
towerpuff
Hi Mary,
I think this an awesome article. What or How would you advise for an artist like myself to be included in such an awesome exhibit like this one. Besides, the local coffee shop or local art venues, i wonder where would much open minded people like this curator could be found to do this type of show for artists like myself?
August 24, 2011 at 12:21 am
mkg
Towerpuff –
First of all you would have to be a top world-recognized, famous artist, and then it helps to include in your artwork portraits of lots of other very famous people who are your close friends and sat for their portraits. It worked for Andy Warhol, too. I’m sure that if you fit these criteria you will have no problem.
On the other hand, you can be an outstanding artist/illustrator like Robert Place, and publish beautiful and erudite tarot decks and write really good books, and then if you work very hard, indeed, you might get to curate a tarot exhibit at a city art gallery.
August 24, 2011 at 8:19 am
towerpuff
i figured! I am just wondering how these established artists got to where they are. In fact, It would be wonderful to do a tarot reading about this but wondering what kind of tarot spread? and realistic questions?
August 24, 2011 at 1:17 pm
mkg
Towerpuff,
You can use a classic spread like the Celtic Cross, or modify the positions slightly before you begin, so they’ll be more specific to your issue. The other technique, that I learned from Gail Fairfield, is to list all your questions about the issue. Then go back through and see which ones are essentially saying the same things, and which need to be more open-ended and advice oriented—instead of “Will I?” see if you can turn a question into “How can I?” Draw a card to answer each question or the most important ones.
If you prefer a spread created by someone else, check out the Spreads section of Aeclectic.net at http://www.tarotforum.net .
September 13, 2011 at 12:47 am
duckcoach
wow, what a great success for the artist. the uffizi are one of my favourits worldwide – ´ve been there some weeks ago and missing the exhibition in september ;-((