Adrian Arias’ most ambitious project to date is Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution, a multifaceted collaboration conceived and orchestrated by Arias where he engaged sixty two visual artists and poets in the creation of a community tarot deck that speaks to historic events that transpired over the pandemic. Published by Nomadic Press, Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution was chosen to be the first exhibition and production at CAST (Community Arts Stabilization Trust) in San Francisco, where Arias serves as the inaugural artist-in-residence. Tarot in Pandemic & Revolution, inspired by Adrian Arias’ lucid dream of a fortune teller and cards embellished with images of viruses, masks, Black Lives Matter, marches, and protests, is a unique 81-card Tarot deck. It is accompanied by an exquisite book of poetry, created by 67 internationally-recognized artists and poets (24 visual artists, 43 poets) with deep ties to the San Francisco Bay Area, who span three generations. These award-winning poet laureates, novelists, authors, muralists, painters, graphic artists, performance artists, composers, musicians, and dancers are each committed to social, environmental, food, public health, and climate justice, and have used their powerful talents to create tarot images and poems in response to the critical times we are living in. This deck is a bold expression of hope, resilience, resistance, and the courage to continue forging a path to justice and love. Includes work by Kim Shuck, Adrian Arias, Justin Hoover, Mimi Cé zanne Stoll, Susana Aragó n, Ytaelena Lopez, Danica Conneely, Anna Lisa Escobedo, Pancho Pescador, Tania Esmeralda Padilla, Susan Matthews, Emma Brown, karinsArt Karin Turnerm, Marissa Arterberry, Mara Lea Brown, Allison Snopek, Cece Carpio, Hugh D’ Andrade, José Antonio Galloso, William Brown, Brett Cook, Nancy Hom, KaliMa Amilak, Paul S. Flores, Anaí s Azul, John Curl, Mahnaz Badihia, Michael Warr, Janice Mirikitani, Virginia Barrett, Lisbit Bailey, Jennifer Barone, MK Chavez, Tureeda Mikell, Mark Eisner, Jahan Khalighi, devorah major, Robert Wyald, Kristi Williamson, Chun Yu, Bobby Coleman, Naomi Quinonez, Jodie Kleeman, gal*in_dog aka Guillermo Galindo, Wanda Sabir, kata miletich, Keith Hennessy, jenna frisch, Rupa Marya, Karen Melander Magoon, Daria Halprin, Jack Hirschman, Agneta Falk, Yolanda Lopez, Guillermo Gó mez-Peñ a, Malik Seneferu, Alejandro Murguí a, Rafael Jesú s Gonzá lez, Arisa White, Maw Shein Win, Ayodele Nzinga, Nina Serrano
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PF Anderson –
The deck was clearly second hand because it was all out of order and missing cards (the High Priestess and The Empress). The three “extra” cards were all included (Mother, Handprint, Heart). Production values a bit off, as the cards were light weight, and had been printed with perforations rather than properly cut. The perforations are still visible and tactile where they were separated manually. Aside from the deck’s physical quality, the style, design, and storytelling are top notch, and provide insights into pandemic experience. This is one of those collaborative decks, where the cards are created by a collection of different artists. The images are in a variety of styles. There’s a bit of chaos in the design, but that’s not at all inappropriate given the theme.