Tarot of Oz
2002
David Sexton
USA
Art Medium:
Pen drawings coloured in computer graphics program.
Description:
The Tarot of Oz is based on the books of the American Frank Baum written in the early decades of the 20th century, and later made famous through the Judy Garland Wizard of Oz film. The artwork for this deck published in 2002 was made by the illustrator David Sexton who also created the Winged Spirit Tarot in 1999 and has worked on a number of comics. The majors depict various characters from the books, beginning with Dorothy as the Fool setting out on her journey along the yellow brick road, then the Wizard of Oz, naturally appears as the Magician. The four suits have emblematic pips, but the imagery does not draw from the Rider-Waite but instead each suit tells the story of one of the major characters in the stories. The Swords tell us about the man of straw, Wands about the history of the cowardly lion, while the tin man is the subject of the suit of Cups, leaving Dorothy as the protagonist in the Stones or Pentacles suit. Sexton seems to have drawn on some of the original illustrations by W. W. Denslow, but presented in a modern form.