Rare 1983 Set KARMA MUSIC TAROT Card Deck of 78 Illustrated by Danish Artist Birgit Boline Erfurt.
The phantasmagoric designs of the Karma Tarot deck, by Danish artist Birgit Boline Erfurt, portray the underground society of artists, musicians and young people that lived during the 1970s at Christiania, a self-contained area within the city of Copenhagen.
Rendered in watercoiors with gouache technique, the designs and their splashes of bright, earthy colors suggest nature and the sun. The striking figures portray actors in the ever-evolving carnival of life. The magnetism of each card of the Karma Tarot draws us into the picture and reveals a part of ourselves.
The Karma Tarot deck is a portrayal of the feelings and realizations experienced by the artist during her stay at Christiania from 1976 to 1978, when it was an innovative youth community. During that period, life at Christiania was rustic. In the natural surroundings of the "free city," as it was called, friendship and mutual cooperation flourished. Food was simple, yet ample. Heat during the winter was provided by wood-burning fireplaces or generated from windmills.
The Major Arcana of the Karma Tarot was sketched at night using the light of a wood fire in the center floor of the tall barracks.
During the day, the artist went into the sunlight and, sitting on the grass, added bright colors to each card. Starting with The Fool, each card of the Major Arcana was created in sequence. Five cards were painted outside of Christiania during the Danish countryside. The artist painted to the accompaniment of her friends' music, usually played on a guitar and a rock cello. During this time Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance and The Devil were completed. The scenes and figures of the Karma Tarot reflect people and events that deeply affected the artist.
Christiania was built in the early seventeenth century as a compound of military barracks. The district is intersected by canals that are fringed by many beautiful buildings. In 1970, Christiania developed into an anti-establishment haven for the Danish youth movement. The entire area has much atmosphere, and individuality is the keynote to daily life. Today the area features workshops, music houses and theaters that are open to the public.
