GREENSBORO – At the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro is a magical mystery tour of the Major Arcana of the Tarot in painting and clay, according to artist Delia Robinson. There are two series of paintings: first, the 22 Major Arcana in their quasi-universal symbolism; second, a highly personal application of the Tarot to Robinson’s own life history.
Both series are small paintings presented sequentially with each arcanum conceived as a tableau set upon a carriage pulled along in a parade. The parade features a wild set of characters, accompanying the traditional Tarot figures: skeletons, tigers, bears, lobsters, wolves, angels and chickens. In one painting, a tiny hooded hermit on a motorcycle pulls a float bearing a mountain topped by The Hermit with a lamp and followed by a procession of little hooded monks.
The through line for the parade is the road, which winds its way across and links each painting. The exhibition includes intriguing small clay sculptures in three dimensions adding to the stories embedded in the symbolism of each arcanum. These little sculptures are also whistles, with several different pitches available to call in the spirit of the archetype.
There is so much to discover. Robinson is a consummate storyteller in image. Whimsy, humor and a lightness of spirit show up in all these works. While maintaining something of a link with the well-known Waite-Rider Tarot deck painted by Pamela Coleman-Smith, Robinson’s Tarot is imbued with her own quirky wit and imagination.
The Tarot Parade begins at Zero 0, The Fool, the Everyman, and continues to the last arcanum, The World, which “celebrates the culmination of life’s journey and the fulfillment within the eternal and infinite cycle of renewal.” The vehicles that carry each tableau are startling and delightful, such as a pomegranate shaped boat carrying The High Priestess, ushered by elephants; and The Chariot made of a plank set across two bicycle wheels, drawn by a labradoodle and a tiger with a screaming white-haired woman holding the reins as they race across an intersection of oncoming traffic.
In divining the Tarot, much depends on the placement of the cards, which can offer affirmation or caution. Here we see The Emperor running naked, crown on head, trying to catch up with his float as his empty throne, serenaded by a banjo trio, rolls on. In the text accompanying the image, Robinson comments, “Traditionally, the Emperor represents that father figure who cares for the physical needs of his people. At best, he’s a strong and wise leader, embodying structure, stability, protection, and steadfast guidance. Yet, when unbalanced, he becomes something else entirely: an ambitious, rigid authoritarian, the crushing boss, or the overbearing head of a household, the enforcer of the status quo and materialism.”
In Robinson’s second series, the arcana become a framework for autobiography. The Magician pictures a white-haired woman, accompanied by a white dog, brandishing a paintbrush as her magic wand, as she evokes the images surrounding her conception. She names this arcanum “Making the Invisible Visible,” and comments, “At some point, many of us realize we’re the magicians in our own lives, waving our magic wands over our choices. For me, that wand happens to be a paintbrush.” In the following sequence of paintings, we see how these archetypes take on the particular meaning of a particular life.
Of the closing image, The World, Robinson writes, “The Fool and his faithful dog appear in my depiction, having traversed the time-space continuum. They began their expedition when we did, and in many ways, the Fool is us. He is a constant reminder that life is a journey, one we each travel and revisit with every shuffle of the deck. The World is both an ending and a beginning, inviting us to live fully.” Indeed, this exhibition invites viewers to contemplate the magic and meaning in life stories and how all share in a collective human adventure.
Robinson’s Tarot Project is on view at the Highland Center in Greensboro, through May 18. The center is open Thursday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. On May 9, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., join Tarot reader Sarah Young and artist Delia Robinson, for a buffet and Tarot exploration. See highlandartsvt.org/
Cynthia Ross
Cynthia Ross is an artist, writer, and teacher living in central Vermont, coming to know it first through painting in nature.
