Tarot, A Deck of Chance, 1992-2002

A statement about A Deck of Chance from Lois’ daughter, Debra Polansky Schor

 It took my mother, Lois Polansky, a decade (1992-2002) to create her elaborate tarot deck, A Deck of Chance.  And it took me twice that long to ultimately bring it out into the world on her behalf.  Lois’ chosen archetypes are indicative of the era in which she created this work of art.  But the issues she addresses with imagery and symbols haven’t changed since the beginning of time.

 In order to bring this project to life I needed to make a few adjustments to the artist’s original vision.  The outer storage box needed to be simplified.  This box was created by an artist in the Ukraine, in 2022, during the Russia-Ukraine War.  I like to think of this as an homage to my mother’s obsession with the “24-hour news cycle” and a way of linking her creation from the 90s to the 21st century.

The tarot cards were printed in 2002 and remained packed up until 2021 when during a dark COVID day we started to unearth them to begin the process of rebirthing this project.  Since everything was created by hand there are slight variations in color throughout the project. To recreate the book that accompanies the deck I needed to type in her text.  At times I may not have understood her words, but I left them as she wrote them to honor her vision for how the book should read.  The book cover is different than she intended but I believe it represents the color and feel that she was looking for.  Archival gloves are included in the box because the printed cards are uncoated and therefore can easily be damaged by dirt and oil.  The entire project is meant to be more of an artwork than a functional tarot deck for everyday use. 

 My mother had a circle of friends, who she thanks in her colophon notes, who assisted her with the creation of this project.  I reached out to all of them as I unearthed this project and they all agreed that her goal was to get the project out into the world.  I hope she is pleased with the way I did this, and I hope that within your hands you find your own new inspirations and visions.

 My gratitude goes to Julia Sabbagh, my dear friend, who assisted with the entire process of bringing A Deck of Chance out into the world.  This would have been impossible without her help.

2022-10-08_15-02-03_156.jpeg
2022-10-08_15-07-24_403.jpeg
2022-10-08_15-48-34_267.jpeg
IMG_7046.jpeg
IMG_7057.jpeg
IMG_7067.jpeg
IMG_7071.jpeg
IMG_7076.jpeg
Picture2.jpg
Picture7.jpg
Picture1.jpg
Picture3.jpg
Picture6.jpg
Picture8.jpg
Picture9.jpg
2022-03-27_21-10-49_648.jpeg
2022-03-27_21-57-13_378.jpeg

Polansky focused on Tarot cards as “visual keystones,” because the Tarot functioned historically as a symbol system, to interpret the meaning of internal and external events. She reasoned that as the 21st Century dawned society would possess a wealth of technological and social experience; yet people would still hate, starve, destroy one another and remain ignorantly powerless against most forces of nature.

“I feel that my concept has evolved from the Golden Dawn, ancient Tarot symbols & astrological signs into a personal set of icons that can be used in many different ways. I have made all 78 of the cards in my interpretation of the suits. They include the 22 trump cards with late 20th century “pulp culture icons” that I transform into contemporary symbols of the ancient archetypes. All of the work is related and based on the idea of chance and the magic in random events. Many of life’s mysteries are as hermetic today as they were to the alchemists of antiquity.” —Lois Polansky

A Deck of Chance consists of a limited edition of 22 (corresponding to the higher Arcana and the Hebrew alphabet) plus 3 proofs. One Deck is now a part of the Newcomb Archives’ Tarot Collection at Tulane University. You can read more about the collection here. At this time the family is selling, for the first time, a select few of the 22 decks. A full Deck of Chance comes with one 78 card deck, one 32 page book, one set of white cotton gloves, and one wood box. Please contact loispolanskystudio@gmail.com if you are a collector and are interested in purchasing one of the limited editions of A Deck of Chance.

Previous

Studio Wall Series
Next

Games of Chance