My nine year old nephew is in town to stay with us for a week here in Las Vegas, and I've been exposing magic.

After I picked him up at the airport I asked if he knew that I used to be a stage magician. He replied that he had seen some pictures of me doing magic.

That night, I "exposed magic" ... sort of. We took him to Worlds Greatest Magic Show where he saw Joseph Gabriel, Kevin James, Losander, Roy Shank and a few others. He met the performers and got autographs. I've been showing him magic for the past few days and I'm sending him home with a bunch of age-appropriate magic, and I just gave him Mark Wilsons Complete Course.

Later this week we're off to see Mac King and Dirk Arthur (yea, I hear you on the latter option... the tickets are cheap and he has tigers). Of course he is coming to House of Blues to see my band on Thursday as well.

I'm also encouraging him to stick with his piano lessons which he wants to quit so he can, get this, spend more time volunteering.

It's pretty fun being the magic uncle I never had, and watching his reactions to all the things he is seeing. I'm trying to plant the seeds without overwhelming him, and I just want to send him home with the tools he needs to start his magic journey if he decides that is what he wants to do.

So there is a different take on "exposing" for you!

In my opinion passing on magic in a teacher student relationship is not exposing magic. If and it sounds like you are. Teaching him not to tell the secrets to people that just want to know. And encouraging him by bringing him to magic shows to see magicians perform. It sounds like he will be inspired to take up magic and become one of the good guys in time.

Best of luck to you and it is great to see the young watch magic and get excited and inspired and want to do it.

Okay, yes that's exposure in that he did not ask to start on the path.

But... you've still left him the choice as to following the path or just playing with the toys or even ignoring the path entirely.

Shall we formally call "teaching those who have not asked to be taught" indecent exposure?

Actually I was trying, very unsuccessfully obviously, to put a different spin on the word exposure, as in to expose him to magic (as opposed to exposing secrets).

The extent of my grouch was the magic kit.

The rest of that exposure to our art, as with the rest of the arts including theater, music, dance, painting, sculpture is a GOOD thing IMHO.

Great to see things with someone who enjoys them so to get a chance to both experience the performance and do so in good company.

:)

More of that positive exposure please. We need all we can get these days.

Sounds like an investment in magic to me.

Well done

Tom

Semantic, Semantic, Semantic. You aren't exposing (well, you are, but obviously a different, yet correct use of the word.) You are enlightening. Anyway, keep up the good work. Maybe you are creating tomorrows magician.

I am horrified you would expose magic to someone in such a fashion. Next thing you know is they will develop a respect for the art and for others creations.

Nothing good can come from this!

You must stop this immediately or I will start a thread trashing you!!!

"Confession: I'm an exposer of magic"

Two 'Hail Mary's' and an 'Act of Contrition' should fix the problem.

Mark Wilson’s Complete Course is a great book with a lot of great stuff in there. Besides the tricks there is a lot of great information in the book and some good guidelines as - how to perform magic. And I think that in that book it covers the point of view "not to expose magic" to the lay audience.

I also think that Tarbell also covered that issue as well.

It may be to bad that some of the high school - buy a trick or a DVD at the mall magic shop - seem to miss these important points in their magic education.

Of is not the same as to.

one can enjoy art without learning about brushes and paints and chisels and commissions and lighting and the politics of the art community.

I am sick of this rampant exposure.

Letting your nephew WATCH a magic show? HE might figure out the method. No one ever figured out an effect they didn't watch.

I prefer underground magic. Tricks NO ONE sees. It's just me...in my basement...do tricks for myself with eyes closed. (my pass is undetectable!)

Dude, you flashed so badly I could see it from here.