Interview with Archeon: artist Timothy Lantz

Archeon, aka Timothy Lantz, is an incredible artist who recently created The Archeon Tarot. After checking out this amazing new interpretation of the ancient Tarot cards as well as his Stygian Darkness web site, I had to contact him to find out more. Below is the result. I hope you enjoy it, and Archeon's art as much as I do.

How long have you been interested in the occult? Did your interest in art come first?

I guess you could say that my interest started in junior high. I remember checking out every book on witches, vampires, magic and what have you that could be found in the school library. I recall werewolves being a particular favorite at the time. This also coincided with my introduction to Dungeons & Dragons. (Which I almost hate to mention for fear of giving target groups more ammo, lol)

It should be mentioned though, that my interest is only on an allegorical level. Angels, demons, and all things that go bump in the night are merely just creative ways to examine facets of the human condition. It’s the symbolism that excites my imagination and I think there’s something very powerful about the way the wiring in our brains connects with these archetypes.

As for my interest in art, I suppose it comes from the same place within — the powerful allure of symbols and the desire to create my own metaphors for the world around me.

I think this is something you can definitely trace back to my love of comic books. I was a voracious reader as a child and one of the things I couldn’t get enough of was comics. The seamless blend of art and words, combined with all of the mythology, was a powerful influence on me. In particular, I had a subscription to Marvel Comic’s The Mighty Thor when I was in third grade. So, throw the Norse religion (skewed as it was through the Marvel interpretation) into the mix of everything above and I think it becomes clear how I was started down this path from an early age. Valkyries, winged horses, rainbow bridges… even now, that still gets me excited just thinking about it.

As I've mentioned before, The Archeon Tarot is quite an amazing interpretation of the ancient cards. Did you gain new insights into the meanings while working on them? Would you mind sharing an example or two?

The Archeon Tarot was much more of an artistic journey for me. I really learned so much about how and why I create the images I do. I think up until I began working on the cards, I was always trying to be more like this or that, never really feeling comfortable with my own vision.

At certain point though, it all just kind of clicked. I wasn’t going to be the next Jim Lee, and you know what? Maybe, that’s ok too. I just sort of let go and let the work stream and figured I’d see what happens. It was all very liberating.

The fact that so many people have really connected with the imagery has just been overwhelming.

I think my biggest insight into the tarot itself was in the perception of masculinity and femininity of the suits. Those familiar with the Archeon Tarot often wonder why I switched the interpretations of Pentacles and Wands from their more traditional gender associations.

The more I looked at what each suit represents, I just didn’t feel that the old standard applied in this day and age. Our society has changed a great deal from when these original interpretations were set down and I decided that the Archeon needed to reflect the changes as I see them, rather than just repeat what has gone before simply out of tradition.

Without going into a full essay on the subject, here’s a brief explanation of how I see the changes.

Pentacles, being associated so closely with money, just didn’t seem very feminine to me. The old stereotype of the woman who spends her man’s money just seems ridiculous in today’s society. These days, money is a powerful corrupter, controlled by corporations, governments, evil CEOs and the like. It’s brutal, savage and forceful the way it changes the world, in essence… masculine.

With Wands, let’s just say it… Wands are all about sex. It can be argued, because of their shape, they must be masculine, but when you really look at it closer, Wands are not forceful, brutish or aggressive. They are about comfort, magic, fertility, and passion and when you wrap your head around all of these ideas, you can see that it’s clearly a much more feminine perspective.

Did you do any research on the Tarot before or during the project? If so, would you mind sharing your sources?

I relied heavily on the internet for the bulk of my research. The essential thing for me was keyword interpretations. I compiled a list of keywords for each card in the Rider Waite and Toth decks using input from many different sources. Once I had this list, I made note of where the various sources had similar interpretations and where they differed significantly. From this, I made a master list of keywords for the archeon, which I then examined on a card by card basis to determine if they fit my vision for the card. Where we were in agreement, I let the traditional view stand, but where I felt strongly that a card needed to go in a different direction, I deviated from the classic meaning.

You list Raymond Chandler as a literary influence (I'm a fan of "The Big Sleep"), what is it about his books that you enjoy and has affected your work?

I think that Chandler’s work has a kind of no nonsense approach that I greatly admire. He has a way of telling you all you need to know without over exposition. For example, a lot of authors when describing a restaurant might spend page after page telling you every minute detail of the décor, the patrons, the size and color of the menus, etc. Chandler would tell you, “it’s the kind of place where you could buy a ten dollar steak.”

Can you describe how (and what, of course) music affects your creative process?

I love music… and I’m a total metal head. I’m almost always listening to something when I’m working… but the danger of that is that I sometimes just get caught up in the songs and end up sitting there listening and not actually working.

I think heavy metal evokes all of the same kind of allegorical responses that the best symbolist painters used to convey their ideas. Lyricists like Ronnie James Dio and Blackie Lawless just fill my head with such amazing visions… it can’t help but spill out into the work I’m doing.

W.A.S.P. is my favorite and if you know what you’re looking for you’ll see their CD, The Crimson Idol, all over the Archeon Tarot.

In a previous interview, you mentioned that your moniker, Archeon, stems from 'archon'. I assume you're familiar with the Gnostic interpretation of the word (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9009299/Archon)? What is your impression of this type of dualistic belief, and did it have anything to do with the choice?

This is a difficult question for me to answer because I don’t want to get on a soapbox. I’m really a secular humanist, and I can say that it didn’t have much of an influence on my decision. I came by the word through its use in ancient Greece, which is more of a magistrate or leader.

What I wanted was to create a new word, my word, a word that would, in essence, be a symbol of all the things that fascinate me and perhaps, define how I strived to live my life. I wanted “Archeon” to be a word that meant teacher, leader, artist, lover… all the things we should aspire to be, and could be if we tried.

In many, if not most, of your work, there are many untold stories lurking. Is that also how you approach a piece when beginning?

(Thank you for noticing! lol) One of the foundations of my art that I’ve sort of clung to over the past few years, is that I am creating illustrations for stories that have yet to be written. I like the viewer to bring his or her own imagination and creativity into play when examining one of my works. However, I think that quality is more of a sign that I’ve finished with a particular piece. As the story begins to realize itself, that’s when I know I’m finished. As for what the story may be, well, that’s for you to decide on your own.

Typically I begin with a theme or loose concept, and start building images into a collage. From there I blend color and texture and begin shaping… it’s a very improvisational process, adding subtracting, shaping and often times it takes a startling different direction from what I had originally conceived.

Have you ever considered doing a graphic novel or non-fiction book? If someone approached you to do it, and you had your choice of whatever you wanted, what type of book would you create?

I think I’m too much of a daydreamer to ever really do a non-fiction book. I’m not sure it would hold my interest very well. Still, if the right concept came along and I felt I could do it justice then sure.

I would love to do a graphic novel. Admittedly, the idea kind of intimidates me, which is, of course, exactly the best reason to do it. I expect before too long I’ll seriously start experimenting in that direction.

As for what type of book I’d create… you’ll just have to wait and see. :-)