Paul Harris once asked Eugene Burger what People looked for in a magician.
Eugene said "Transcendence".
Eugene said "Transcendence".
The Ultimate Question
- Thread starter the_dude42
- Start date
Let's go with Eugene's retort . . .
Transcendence means that people are looking for something experiential that can be seen as "real', even when humorous, which the old Rabbi seems to convey (let's face it, Eugene does resemble that aged Rabbi with a beard from which birds fly). It's the art of creating an intrigue -- not a puzzle but a theatrical (for lack of a better term) enticement through which we become mystified. It is in part a storyteller's skill (just watch how Eugene lures people into his silly stories at times or what we find with Ed Solomon or Larry Baukin's tall tales).
Look at it as one looks at the art of true Burlesque. . . a.k.a. the Strip TEASE . . . the early year masters of this act never actually stripped down to nothing, they alluded to the idea and teased the audience. One of the more famous artists in this field was in fact a man doing the famed Feather Dance (see the moving The Right Stuff, there is a featured Feather Dancer in one scene). With magic, but especially Bizarre type magic, it's the tease and insinuation that grips the heart and mind of the patron; it is also where we find the argument about "artistic" performance (90% of which is far from being such, except for in the mind of the performer).
Transcendence means that people are looking for something experiential that can be seen as "real', even when humorous, which the old Rabbi seems to convey (let's face it, Eugene does resemble that aged Rabbi with a beard from which birds fly). It's the art of creating an intrigue -- not a puzzle but a theatrical (for lack of a better term) enticement through which we become mystified. It is in part a storyteller's skill (just watch how Eugene lures people into his silly stories at times or what we find with Ed Solomon or Larry Baukin's tall tales).
Look at it as one looks at the art of true Burlesque. . . a.k.a. the Strip TEASE . . . the early year masters of this act never actually stripped down to nothing, they alluded to the idea and teased the audience. One of the more famous artists in this field was in fact a man doing the famed Feather Dance (see the moving The Right Stuff, there is a featured Feather Dancer in one scene). With magic, but especially Bizarre type magic, it's the tease and insinuation that grips the heart and mind of the patron; it is also where we find the argument about "artistic" performance (90% of which is far from being such, except for in the mind of the performer).