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Traveler Special user 549 Posts |
I don't expect to get many answers on this one... I even expect the replies that I get to be not so friendly, but it's about something I believe in, so...
When I look at magic in it's current state I many, many tricks and just a tiny speck of enchantment. Mentalism and bizarre magick are indeed - as has been said before- the last frontier... Magic that feels like magic. But it's easy to drift away from it... In my opinion the original bizarre magick (like the magic we find in the pages of "invocation") is too dark and too experimental to be performable. It's more an interest than a way to perform. Don't go yelling now that you make your living doing bizarre magick... It's just so that many people DON'T. So there's something wrong with this original approach... Although I , like many like to read and think and dream about it. Mentalism is slowly but surely drifting away in the same direction as magic. The renewed interest for mentalism (thanks to Derren Brown, Banachek, Osterlind and Mc Cambridge) has also - as a side-effect created a new species of mentalist... The generic one... (the attack of the clones has begon ? ) So, I sincerely believe that we should rethink the roots of magic, keep the enchantment BUT make it original and commercially viable. There have been taken steps in this direction already. I think about Mystery School, the works of Borodin... Punx perhaps... Are there other steps in this direction ? Are there other people who believe that there should be a post-bizarre movement ? I'm aware that this will be a lonely path... But I know it will be mine... |
Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
Traveler,
Please don't confuse bizarre magic with the ghoulish, ghostly, or ghastly. Bizarre is simply story-telling magic, a form of magic that touches the spectator on a higher emotional level. It CAN be ghostly but it doesn't have to be. In fact, it can include much of comedy, too. |
Traveler Special user 549 Posts |
Peter,
I fully agree... and I would be the last one to claim that bizarre should only be about ghosts, etc... But the undeniable fact is that the LITERATURE ABOUT bizarre magick is for the largest part unperformable in commercial situations. Again, there are exceptions and you may be one of them, but I sincerely believe that the mainstream of the bizarre is ... Well... Even in the foreword of "compleat invocation" Max Maven states bluntly that most of the contents of the magazine is... crap. (his word, not mine) So I sincerely believe that it's time for a new-wave. There's enough talent out there to make it come true. Bizarre magick was a reaction on the magic scene. It was necessary but experimental. Now it's time to adapt it to a new age. (didn't I predict that I would be attacked on this one ? ) |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27300 Posts |
Magic has moved on from the "professor" demonstrating mechanical marvels and strange new physics. Back in the day of the "Modern Conjurer", Hofzinser, Bertram and Robert-Houdin set an example of how to present magic in a modern social context. Modern at that time.
To find meaning, some have turned to religious context. However, we live in a cosmopolitan society where Muslims and Seiks will watch with Buddhists and Christians. I'm gonna stay away from the Crowley word "Magick" and just comment on the generic robe and antique fussing which accompanies mock rituals. Way back in the 1960s it was fashionable to find and dabble in "alternative" religions. Some folks have found a home in those new places. These are religions. Today, aside from the "righteously indignant", there is fairly mainstream acceptance of what some call pagan a religion. Robes and ceremonies around the fire are part of their religious practice. Hence it falls upon the performer to respect such things and refrain from offering a religious insult to those being mocked. Nobody dresses up as the pope to vanish a statue of Christ off the cross, and likewise only a bigot would one person's religious icons and artifacts in their light entertainment. It is simply disrespectful. Moving ahead from the 1970s to today, the biker, goth, raver and other subcultures have their own artifacts, habits etc. Each provides a venue for contextual magic. The key to this being contextual. Are you there to mock or to entertain. Can we move ritual from one subculture to another? Certainly, provided we do so with respect for both the audience and also those from whom we borrow. Where do you want to go today?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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kaytracy Inner circle Central California 1793 Posts |
Traveller, this is likely one of the few forums you will NOT get slapped for expressing an opposing view, or questioning the Emperor's new clothes!
Johnathan, I think you have hit it when you say the key is to be contextual. There are things I do when I am re-enacting, that have no place in the day to day world, and as such, when I describe them, they get the gee whiz reaction, but still the slightly blank look about how or when would one perform that?!? Traveler, I think the thing to keep in mind is that the very early, dark goetic, ritual shrouded beginnings of the genre were the shot in the arm that allowed the mind to go beyond what was seen a the time as 'the craft' of magic. I suppose in my 'romantic view' of those days past (I had yet to discover this world) it would be likened to the beatniks of another generation sitting in a coffee house snapping fingers in applause to a poem that the mainstream would shake their heads at! The favored fans and followers of the Bizarre sitting raptly at the feet or table of the master of the arcane for a special treat. ( go ahead, Anyone tell me that there is not a person you think highly enough of to find yourself in this position if the chance were there!) Now I cannot say this is how it was, but this is my 'inner picture' of how it might have been. To that end, I applaud the ability of those who were in mainstream entertainment to actually kick the status quo and think outside the box. I think most agree that many of the items we read about in Invocation, and other publications of the past were very liimited in the venue and appeal, but the key is that seminal bit of thinking that said "What if....", and then went and tried it out! I will not say that I make my living dong Bizarre things, well then as I think about it, maybe I do, but not in the world we are talking about here!! What I can say is that when I do an effect for someone, I want them to be asking, "what just happened?", not "show me how to do that trick!" (if that makes any sense). I want them to wonder about what just happened, and maybe, just for a minute, think that it WAS real. Kay
Kay and Tory
www.Bizarremagick.com |
Mystery Loyal user 248 Posts |
Well,
if we ask the question whether or not we've outgrown the "black gowns" thing... Indeed, and as for literature I would say : Mystery School Sheherazade Final Curtain (coming soon) A darker light (Kotah) Once upon a time (punx) The practioner (Poinc) And perhaps Shane's books and some by Eugene Burger... Not much... bizare magic still is experimental, but that's perhaps part of the fun of it. And by the way, if you are into storytelling, check out Brother Shadow's works and Leslie melville's website...
Let your dreams tear apart your life, before your life tears apart your dreams...
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Gede Nibo Inner circle 2447 Posts |
...ah...you forgot CAPRICORNIAN TALES....a gem....masterpiece...
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Mystery Loyal user 248 Posts |
I agree that it's a masterpiece... I'm from Belgium, so I'm proud of Christian, but... I think this is more the dark side that Traveler was trying to avoid.
Well, perhaps not...
Let your dreams tear apart your life, before your life tears apart your dreams...
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27300 Posts |
My issue is not with the the dark or the old. It's about basic relevance, character and context.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
Traveler,
I find myself in agreement with many of the things you've said. One can lose one's way in the country of the bizarre as easily as anyplace. However, I'm not convinced with the post-bizarre label. I think that part of the problem has been in the labelling - labels define and limit our thinking, and tend only to be useful for a particular time, place and people. That's why Jonathan's contextual/historical analysis is so insightful, I feel. Let's look at this another way. When we peel off the label from the work of the 'first' bizarrists, and strip away the rest of their packaging, what are we left with? What is inside that culture/time specific container? What still nourishes? What else can be made with it? And what needs to be thrown away because it's past its sell-by date? Relevance, character and content says it all. Incidentally, there's plenty of good work being done in this area - though you're as likely to encounter it in adverts/music videos, the occasional TV programme, and in graphic novels as anywhere else. But I don't think that people on this path need badges to recognise each other. What they make and do will be sign enough. Regards, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
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Seance Elite user Talking on the other side with 427 Posts |
Traveler,
If you can, take a look at the forerunners of bizarre magic: Punx, Doc Shiels, Tony Andruzzi. Punx took the idea of storytelling and applying magic to create a whole greater than its parts. Doc Shiels started the 'horror' aspects of theatrical magic along with the late Charles Cameron. Andruzzi made the idea of a magician stripping away the rabbits in hats, ripping off the sequined tuxedoes and getting back to the shamanism of magic viable. After that, you can see the branches that are existing today with Peter Marucci, Borodin, Brother Shadow and Caleb Strange where bizarre magic can exist in children's shows (ala Brother Shadow's Wizard's Cottage), in humor (with Peter Marucci's Vampire Bat) and in wonder with Caleb Strange. Also, look for Eugene Poinc's "The Practitioner: Journeys into Grey", a wonderful book that shows the promise of bizarre magic. The tent of bizarre magic is big enough for all that are ernest. As apropos as your name, have fun exploring! |
Traveler Special user 549 Posts |
Caleb,
I use the label only as a tool to try to express myself... I started thinking about it when I read one of the first chapters in the mystery school book. Jeff Mc Bride mentions that he was looking for a kind of post-bizarre thing, he wanted to call it "mythopoetical" magic. It sounds awful, but I clearly understand (on an emotional level) what he means, though it's hard to put in words. Borodin and Punx surely are part of it.Tony Andruzzi, Shiels, Cameron and the others are part of the heritage, but don't fall under the same (emotional) label that I use to make a distinction for myself. And to all the other guys : But please don't get me wrong : all the authors that you have mentioned are on my bookshelf and I love them. As said : because this distinction is (like all distinctions) subjective, it's hard to explain. But I really think this kind of discussions can and should have an importance in the advancement of the art. |
sinnead zenun Elite user Mt. Makiling 408 Posts |
Bizarre magick will continue to evolve...
"So, I sincerely believe that we should rethink the roots of magic, keep the enchantment BUT make it original and commercially viable" I agree with you traveller, go back to the roots and start to grow... "One can lose one's way in the country of the bizarre as easily as anyplace" just be careful along the way as you travel... take your own path or make a new one... you'll be surprised traveller you're not the only one "The tent of bizarre magic is big enough for all that are ernest" so no matter what road you may take... there's a lot of possibilities in bizarre magick... |
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