I'm not sure how a sucessful theatrical piece would not be artistic nessesarily. Are you saying that a well-crafted effect will only be appealing to "a handful of afficianados", while the goal is to make something easily digestible because it will be (hopefully) sucessful? Does it then follow that a (for example) Sprint PCS print ad in a magazine is an inherently more succesful and valid piece of visual stimuli than (for another example) the Mona Lisa?

DC has done good things for the art. As cheesey as he is, I'm sure the majority of people here were inspired by him to some degree. Of course, some people try to BE him. Maybe the overload of wannabees have tarnished the way we see the original DC.

Looking back over my post from last week, I see that I was mainly showing off my own prejudices toward popular art and commercial success. The truth is that all this is subjective. Neither a Sprint PCS ad nor the Mona Lisa have any inherent worth (thanks for the analogy, monocreif). It's all about what the individual beholder happens to value - or even what mood he's in. At the time I made that original post, showmanship was the all-important consideration for me. But closer to the truth is that I prefer a performer who errs on the side of sensationalism while maintaining a perfectionist's eye for detail. Somebody else might not like any sensationalism in a performer and so prefers a lecture-style show. Somebody else might not care for anything but pure spectacle.

Maybe there's such a thing as an artist who's in the objective center of the spectrum - someone like Mozart who appeals to the masses as much as to the afficionados. But even then, some people just don't like Mozart.

Will

Whatever you decide, I bet that at the end of your vacation your wife is still enthusing about how brilliant Mac King was.

The funniest hour of magic I have ever seen - utterly uplifting and joyful! It will be my first stop when I return to Vegas (before going to see lovely Lance again of course

I have been unable to find a tape or DVD of Mac at work to relive my holiday fun - if anyone knows where I can find one, PLEASE PM me, as I am banging on to everyone I know how great he is, but sadly have nothing to show them.

Hey there-

I'll add my two cents!

See World's Greatest Magic Show at the Greek Isles. Or it might have moved to the Sahara. This is an awesome show, with like 7 or 8 top magicians in it!

Definately see Lance Burton.

I didn't find Mac King's show to be all that great. I might have to see it again sometime.

Copperfield's show is the same everywhere - and it's a wonderful show. He is a master of involving people's emotions in his presentations. He takes a lot of his inspiration from films and filmmakers, which is definately a different take on magic.

Enjoy!

--Jack

I was just wondering. What is all this stuff about hating penn gillette?