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Darrin Cook Special user 621 Posts |
I have your "Chicago Opener" book, and I was both surprised and impressed by your attention to the underlying theory of strong magic. What books or other sources do you recommened for a magician to grow in the art and to acquire a solid foundation in strong magic principles?
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Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
I'm glad that you enjoyed my book "Chicago Surprise." I would eventually like to do a full size book on magic theory, and I think my approach is slightly different from what has come before.
Although I don't always agree with everything in these books, I think that the most important classic books on theory are Maskelyne and Devant's "Our Magic," and the Fitzkee trilogy. I also found inspiring "Strong Magic" by Darwin Ortiz, Juan Tamariz's writings, and Tommy Wonder's works. Eugene Burger's writings are also very interesting and thought-provoking. The theory expressed in "Chicago Surprise" is just one approach to magic, an approach that I think has been neglected in recent magic. As my friend Eugene Burger says, "Magic has many rooms." My concern in this book was to analyze what makes magic different from other forms of theater, and to separate out that which is unique in magic from other forms of performance art. I was seeking a definition for the experience of magic, the experience that could not be replicated by other forms such as television, movies, and literature. The imaginative suspension of disbelief that allows one to contemplate the possibility of magic in Peter Pan, Harry Potter, or a Clive Barker horror story, is something that can be accomplished without magic. The method is immaterial to the result, since the audience has allowed themselves to imagine their way into the story, and they no longer care that they can see the rope that allows Peter Pan to fly, or recognize the computer graphics or special effects that enable the "magic" to happen in movie and stage productions. What I think is distinctly magical, is the sophistry of trying to convince the audience that something they know is not true is actually happening. They are not able to come up with any logical explanation, so they are stuck on the horns of a dilemma: "There is no such thing as magic/There is no other explanation." This creates a cognitive dissonance in the mind of the spectator that is unique to the performance of magic, and since the only solutions possible are achievable through inductive rather than deductive reasoning, the search for solutions can be the source of much stimulating creative thought. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The September 2003 entrée: Whit Haydn » » Recommended books for magic growth? » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (0 Likes) |
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