The profound triviality of Magic

“The great Tragedy of the 20th century magic in the larger picture is that magicians have taken an art form that is inherently profound and rendered it trivial.”

Max Maven

Max’s words here makes me consider my own performances and the material I have chosen to present to audiences around the world.

The image of the magic I present is not only representative of me, as a person, but I feel with the magic I perform I am also representing the greater good of what magic should be.

I sometimes think, if i am the only magician this person will ever see, what do I want to be remembered by?

Most importantly, I want It to be remembered for doing some dam good magic!

It’s all about the audience

One of the reasons I perform for children is because I want to create audiences of the future.

If people witness real magic as children isn’t it easier to bring them into our world later in life? It’s important that the magic children see is real! Not just in the trick (the material I perform) but in my entire being as a person that is standing in front of them right in that moment.

We have one responsibility as magicians of this world.

Do good magic. Nothing more, nothing less.

And to leave the magic world in a better place than it was when we entered it.

Achieving this though is more difficult than it seems but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

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Take responsibility for this huge responsibility

Magic isn’t easy. Or rather good magic isn’t easy.

A good idea takes time, years to imagine, create, develop, test and conquer.

If good ideas were easy everyone would be coming up with them.

My cups and balls took three full years and it was hard. I mean so dam hard. I had to let go of so many idea’s that I loved and nurtured. At times it was painful but now I have a beautiful routine that I am truly proud of.

As ideas take so much time and effort to grow, we also need to learn to respect other’s ideas. Ask permission. Credit. Don’t steel idea’s and claim they are your own.

How to create the unique

If you know that a good idea take’s time, then give it the time and respect it needs.

Don’t be afraid of the unknown, embrace it. And above all be open to playing with it. Idea’s are like volatile objects that can appear and disappear in an instant. So the best way to keep them safe and secure is with a notebook.

Remembering that idea’s will only become something when you get up onto your feet and do something with them. Luke Jermay in his wonderful lecture at the session two years ago mentioned the 1% method.

In order to create something new you don’t have to reinvent it completely, you need to tweak it by just 1 % to make it new, unique.

Sharing ideas too is also a way to explore find something unique. For the last four years I have been attending Tom Stone’s Conjuring Courses in Sigtuna Sweden to work with various creative artists to explore magic at its core.

-Misdirection tools

-Acting Tools

-Prop Making Skills

-Team work

And now this year I’ll be going to explore a full act with a director and hope to find out how to take an idea I have and build it into a piece of theatre – I hope!

Sharing is caring

Although as magician’s we tend to work alone most of the time, I cannot recommend collaboration enough. In the last five years I have grown so much as an artist by letting people into my world. Has it been easy – fuck no. But worth it – hell yes!

What happens when we share our ideas with others is we tend to move faster to our end goal. This is because each person has a different skills and knowledge base. Someone might see something you are doing differently and help you achieve what you have been trying to do for some time.

I’m not saying let everyone in, but sharing ideas with people you trust can be totally worth it!

Exposition

There appears to be a real disconnect with magic around the world right now. The internet has allowed great opportunities for collaboration in the magic community around the globe. But it has also led to a magic exposing culture which to some extent can be both good and bad.

It is a wonderful thing that magic is getting onto television again, that more people are becoming interested in it and curious about our art. However, I personally believe that magic exposure for the sake of creating content is an absolute a no-no. And if I ever see it – i report it. I’m not sure it will do anything but at least it might make that exposing persons day that bit more troublesome!

Exposing and destroying peoples ideas and inventions in one fell swoop for some likes, followers and celebrity status is just wrong. And if you think otherwise you have never actually created something unique and had that idea stolen and exposed. Only then would you realise the real cost of doing it and why exposure is diabolically wrong.

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The problem with exposure is that the people who are doing it are only thinking of the short term goal. And the long term goal will not necessarily affect them personally, but the rest of the community who are actually out there doing the real work with real audiences.

The whole point of magic is that we create wonder, the why, the how, and if more and more people know how we do it, simply put – there is no magic.

I also remember Luke Jermay asking in his lecture – What is a magician? The answer – Someone who performs inexplicable feats of wonder.

Magicians are secret keepers, we are meant to be the best at that and yet for some reason magician’s cannot keep secrets. We are the worst at it. And exposure is making what we do professionally trivial to non-magicians around the world.

Magic is not trivial it is and should be art

For me, magic is my life and being. Even the days I do not want to do magic I am thinking about it.

I have the upmost respect for it and the magical world and community I am a part of. I will never support exposure and the only thing it does for me is sadly make me not want to share my creations with the world. I sometimes feel it’s time to go underground with magic and creation, until the world begins to respect it again.

I feel sorry for all the inventors who have gone before me and had their work literally broken down on video’s by well respected artists in our community. And although the response is usually “sure everyone knows how they were done, they’ve been around for years?” It does not matter. You did not take the time to create that idea. It is not yours and you have no right in any way to disrespect the person who did by revealing its secret.

I encourage our community and you that love magic, do not be afraid to speak out. Report exposure and voice your opinions. It might fall on deaf ears to the people who are doing it. But if we as a community begin to take this seriously it will stop. Because the benefits in the long run to these exposers will mean – the entire community rejects it and thus they will be rejected also. Because ultimately these people want to be loved and respected by their community of which, magicians are a huge part.

We all have a responsibility in the community to make magic profound again!