David Palladini, Aquarian Tarot Deck, 1970. Morgan Press. More to see here: We are the Mutants
With their autumnal hues and deft fusion of the geometries of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the tarot cards evoke the fading glow of the previous decade’s psychedelic optimism. The drift of interest in the esoteric and occult from the counterculture into the mainstream had been underway for some time: three years previously, Palladini had contributed to another pack of Tarot cards for Massachusetts paper producer Linweave and produced a series of Zodiac posters for Morgan Press. Palladini’s style took inspiration from “decadents” like Harry Clarke and Aubrey Beardsley, the washed-out exoticism of illustrator Arthur Rackham, and even the expressionism of Munch, all filtered through memories of the early days of cinema and the poster art of the 1960s to create something that still looks modern today.
Palladini, who passed away in 2019, may be familiar from his illustrations for books like Jane Yolen’s 1974 book The Girl Who Cried Flowers and Other Tales, the 1987 edition of Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon, and his remarkable, haunting poster for Werner Herzog’s 1979 Nosferatu. Palladini came from an archetypal Italoamerican background, born in Italy in 1946, his family had emigrated to the US in 1948. After graduating from New York’s prestigious Pratt Institute Art School, which he attended on a scholarship, Palladini accepted a job as a photographer at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. When the poster designer abruptly departed, Palladini took over his post, creating a series of posters for the event. After the Olympics he moved back to New York and took up a position with Push Pin Studios, then considered one of the most innovative illustration companies in the world. Source: We are Mutant
Design is fine. History is mine. 