Heres something.
I just coincidently got off the phone with one of my friends who is also a magician and mentioned this topic to him, and he came off with a very good explanation which i (with his permission) will share.
"Most people's opinion of a magician, taking away the Blaines and Copperfeilds and Angels.. is thus:
The uncle at the family gathering who can pull his thumb off or take the penny out of the glass without touching whatever. The grandfather who used to pull coins from behind your ear or do one of those "Is your card in the packet? How about this packet?" tricks.
People dont respect magic as an art form because very few magicians are taking it out there and showing the uncle and the grandfather what real magic is. Pulling coins from behind your ear and bar tricks are still the standards that most laymen set magic at. They have never seen anything like having a card they hold in their hands visually change places the one you hold. And they wont, unless we do something about it."
Of all the members of the this forum, of all the magic communities and forums, ellusionist, MagicCafe, MagicHat etc., even people making videos on youtube..
how many of us go out onto the streets a few days a week, whenever we can and show our art to as many people as we can? Not just showing friends, but actually approaching strangers and amazing them?
How many of US, the magicians approach this as an art, as a commitment and a lifestyle? Not all of us. Many, but not all. And it should be all of us. We are the only ones responsible for how magic is accepted by the public and are the only ones who can change anything. Back in the 'Golden Age of Magic', people put the work in, built props, built sets, built theatres JUST for the magic. I fear that only a fraction of the work is being put in nowadays. And that is our problem. Rather than showing off to friends or making videos, we should ALL be out there, amongst laymen, practising our craft.
I just coincidently got off the phone with one of my friends who is also a magician and mentioned this topic to him, and he came off with a very good explanation which i (with his permission) will share.
"Most people's opinion of a magician, taking away the Blaines and Copperfeilds and Angels.. is thus:
The uncle at the family gathering who can pull his thumb off or take the penny out of the glass without touching whatever. The grandfather who used to pull coins from behind your ear or do one of those "Is your card in the packet? How about this packet?" tricks.
People dont respect magic as an art form because very few magicians are taking it out there and showing the uncle and the grandfather what real magic is. Pulling coins from behind your ear and bar tricks are still the standards that most laymen set magic at. They have never seen anything like having a card they hold in their hands visually change places the one you hold. And they wont, unless we do something about it."
Of all the members of the this forum, of all the magic communities and forums, ellusionist, MagicCafe, MagicHat etc., even people making videos on youtube..
how many of us go out onto the streets a few days a week, whenever we can and show our art to as many people as we can? Not just showing friends, but actually approaching strangers and amazing them?
How many of US, the magicians approach this as an art, as a commitment and a lifestyle? Not all of us. Many, but not all. And it should be all of us. We are the only ones responsible for how magic is accepted by the public and are the only ones who can change anything. Back in the 'Golden Age of Magic', people put the work in, built props, built sets, built theatres JUST for the magic. I fear that only a fraction of the work is being put in nowadays. And that is our problem. Rather than showing off to friends or making videos, we should ALL be out there, amongst laymen, practising our craft.