|
|
Paul Sherman Inner circle Arlington, VA 1511 Posts |
Max--
I swear I'll let some other people ask questions after this one. In the excellent documentary on the life of Dai Vernon, "The Spirit of Magic", you said (paraphrase) "The great tragedy of 20th century magic is that magicians have taken something inherently meaningful and rendered it trivial." You go on to mention that, for Dai Vernon, magic was never trivial. I was wondering if you could elaborate more on this thought. What do you think has brought this about? What, if anything, can be done about it? How can the average hobbiest (who seems to make up the majority of the magic population) perform magic without trivializing it? Is there really a way to add any substantial "meaning" to most close-up tricks (card tricks in particular)? Finally, apart from Dai Vernon, which performers (alive or dead) do you think performed "meaningful" magic? Paul
"The finished card expert considers nothing too trivial that in any way contributes to his success..." Erdnase
some youtube videos |
Max Maven V.I.P. 266 Posts |
I have some rather elaborate theories as to why theatrical magic has become trivialized, but it's a long discussion. I will, however, address your question as to what can be done to change that.
Here, I think the basic answer is simple: Make your magic meaningful. If enough people do that, then eventually the perception of magic will shift. How does one make magic more meaningful? Various ways, but the most direct is to consider the difference between craft and art. What the vast majority of magicians perform is craft. Sometimes very good craft. But while craft can be delightful and aesthetically pleasing, it does not do what art does. When I experience art (in any medium -- painting, music, sculpture, dance, literature, and on and on), if the art connects with me it ends up informing my life. I discover something. It might be a new way of regarding trust, or my relationship to my mother, or an unexpectedly different mode of communication, or an odd combination of simultaneous emotions, or... just about anything. As to performers who do (or have done) meaningful magic, there are many, and I won't put myself in the precarious position of offering a "complete" list. But, in addition to The Professor, I'll give you some names of some deceased magicians who come to mind that rank high on my list, limited to performers I saw work live, and in alphabetical order: Roy Benson, Chan Canasta, Jack Chanin, Albert Goshman, Del Ray, Aldo Richiardi, Tony Slydini. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The May 2005 entrée: Max Maven » » Triviality » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.01 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |