THAT WAS THE SUBJECT AT A TOPIC ON THE ELLUSIONIST FORUMS
So today, i decided to make an account on E, i had one years ago but never posts cuz i didnt like them too much and MagicCafe was where its at. So i made one and im browsing through and i see "Magic an art? Lets not trick ourselves into believing this."
And i was like....WHAAAAAAA!
So i click it and the person stated this....
And i quote....
’m not sure if this has been brought up before – and if it has, whether or not it had this ‘slant’ on in. It just occurred to me today – it’s the notion that magic is somehow an Art. We hear it all the time - 'our Art, your Art, this Art'.
Even, Brad in one of his dvd appearances – Ninja maybe - says something about the cards ‘being your Art’ – so, as a result, we all gotta handle them with a bit of sensitive tender loving care and flair.
But is magic really an Art? I don’t want to get all flowery about what art is or isn’t or might be or should be – but if we look at what we do as magicians – it’s all about trickery. It’s a con. Magic doesn’t exist. It’s a little white lie to create a moment of entertainment. The spec might describe magic as some kind of miracle – but we know better.
On a base level isn’t all magic a cheap con? Clever. Effective, when it works – but nothing more that a series of deceptive moves? So where’s the Art in that? There’s an element of personal involvement and skill – but involvement and skill exist in even the most mundane activities
I don’t mean to undervalue magic – and in some ways, I’m trying to give it much more value, by not idly classifying it as something it isn’t – Some kind of almighty Art.
Magic is a con. A sales pitch delivery with some fancy moves of the fingers thrown in or a gimmick doing the hard work for you. And that’s about it. Nothing artistic there. And if people say there is - then selling cell phones is an Art. Asking customers if they want to ‘go large’ on their next Burger King meal is an Art.
And this is my point - Is the big, clever deception – the fact that many magicians call magic an Art? We describe what we do in these might terms in the hope that it somehow drifts towards the public’s perception of what we do – and consequently places magic and our abilities on the higher ground? A ground well out of reach of the common people
What I’m trying to say, I suppose – is that when I tell my friends about magic – I might call it an Art, to boost the notion of its unique standing – but between magicians I wouldn’t call it Art. I’d feel like a pretentious fool. And well done to the magic community for creating this lie that subtly pervades into the conscience of the public. Clever stuff – and all in the spirit of furthering the deception.
But, when we are all chewing the fat as magicians - surely we can drop the arrogance and pomposity and call what we do – tricks. Our Tricks. Not our Art.
Calling it an art reminds me of those internet sites where you can buy instant qualifications like PhD’s and MA’s and BA’s. It’s a self-appointed title which holds no real merit. It only fools the ignorant public and attempts to 'up' your status.
As a bit of a footnote, I got my delivery today of Trilogy and Loops dvds. Impressive stuff. Talented and skilful tricksters at work.
This is my first post for a while. I've been in a magic wilderness for about 6 months. Confused but I still practiced my tricks everyday. Loving and hating every moment of it.
Second footnote - in four days time I've got a glorious eight week vacation coming my way - so the good times will start to roll again and hopefully I can submit many more pointless threads. I've just had a bit of a deja vu - I thought that I'd already posted this kind of thought before. Maybe I should use the search feature.
SO i was very upset and i replied with....
Okay, im not even going to bother reading this (The whole thread...thats 5 pages long) but...
MAGIC NOT AN ART?!
1. Someone who just buying stuff from companies like E and T11 or BMG, or any other sites, learn them move for move, patter for patter... thats not an artist, thats a mirror.
2. Someone who gets creative and creates effects, new styles, new versions of things...thats art and magic IS AN ART.
A magic creator makes something out of nothing, and you say thats not art. Yet a painter makes a picture out of nothing and that is art? The picture exist only in his imagination yet you call that art and not magic?
Magic is an art depending on the magician and if he treats it as an art and isnt a mirror reflection of other magicians.
Every day i remember what those guys at MAGICisDEAD SAY... "Magic is dead without the magician" and boy is it dead alright.
So today, i decided to make an account on E, i had one years ago but never posts cuz i didnt like them too much and MagicCafe was where its at. So i made one and im browsing through and i see "Magic an art? Lets not trick ourselves into believing this."
And i was like....WHAAAAAAA!
So i click it and the person stated this....
And i quote....
’m not sure if this has been brought up before – and if it has, whether or not it had this ‘slant’ on in. It just occurred to me today – it’s the notion that magic is somehow an Art. We hear it all the time - 'our Art, your Art, this Art'.
Even, Brad in one of his dvd appearances – Ninja maybe - says something about the cards ‘being your Art’ – so, as a result, we all gotta handle them with a bit of sensitive tender loving care and flair.
But is magic really an Art? I don’t want to get all flowery about what art is or isn’t or might be or should be – but if we look at what we do as magicians – it’s all about trickery. It’s a con. Magic doesn’t exist. It’s a little white lie to create a moment of entertainment. The spec might describe magic as some kind of miracle – but we know better.
On a base level isn’t all magic a cheap con? Clever. Effective, when it works – but nothing more that a series of deceptive moves? So where’s the Art in that? There’s an element of personal involvement and skill – but involvement and skill exist in even the most mundane activities
I don’t mean to undervalue magic – and in some ways, I’m trying to give it much more value, by not idly classifying it as something it isn’t – Some kind of almighty Art.
Magic is a con. A sales pitch delivery with some fancy moves of the fingers thrown in or a gimmick doing the hard work for you. And that’s about it. Nothing artistic there. And if people say there is - then selling cell phones is an Art. Asking customers if they want to ‘go large’ on their next Burger King meal is an Art.
And this is my point - Is the big, clever deception – the fact that many magicians call magic an Art? We describe what we do in these might terms in the hope that it somehow drifts towards the public’s perception of what we do – and consequently places magic and our abilities on the higher ground? A ground well out of reach of the common people
What I’m trying to say, I suppose – is that when I tell my friends about magic – I might call it an Art, to boost the notion of its unique standing – but between magicians I wouldn’t call it Art. I’d feel like a pretentious fool. And well done to the magic community for creating this lie that subtly pervades into the conscience of the public. Clever stuff – and all in the spirit of furthering the deception.
But, when we are all chewing the fat as magicians - surely we can drop the arrogance and pomposity and call what we do – tricks. Our Tricks. Not our Art.
Calling it an art reminds me of those internet sites where you can buy instant qualifications like PhD’s and MA’s and BA’s. It’s a self-appointed title which holds no real merit. It only fools the ignorant public and attempts to 'up' your status.
As a bit of a footnote, I got my delivery today of Trilogy and Loops dvds. Impressive stuff. Talented and skilful tricksters at work.
This is my first post for a while. I've been in a magic wilderness for about 6 months. Confused but I still practiced my tricks everyday. Loving and hating every moment of it.
Second footnote - in four days time I've got a glorious eight week vacation coming my way - so the good times will start to roll again and hopefully I can submit many more pointless threads. I've just had a bit of a deja vu - I thought that I'd already posted this kind of thought before. Maybe I should use the search feature.
SO i was very upset and i replied with....
Okay, im not even going to bother reading this (The whole thread...thats 5 pages long) but...
MAGIC NOT AN ART?!
1. Someone who just buying stuff from companies like E and T11 or BMG, or any other sites, learn them move for move, patter for patter... thats not an artist, thats a mirror.
2. Someone who gets creative and creates effects, new styles, new versions of things...thats art and magic IS AN ART.
A magic creator makes something out of nothing, and you say thats not art. Yet a painter makes a picture out of nothing and that is art? The picture exist only in his imagination yet you call that art and not magic?
Magic is an art depending on the magician and if he treats it as an art and isnt a mirror reflection of other magicians.
Every day i remember what those guys at MAGICisDEAD SAY... "Magic is dead without the magician" and boy is it dead alright.
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