Sad But True...
I have been so busy with the SetFocus program... I am up very late every night and weekends are busy.
To help with my sanity, I have been getting back to magic.
I think my favorite magician is Jay Sankey, a whacky dude out of Toronto. I just love his thinking. He really gets into the psychology and philosophy of magic.
Jay has been responding to questions on a private bulletin board that I occasionally monitor and have access to. I think the world has become too mean and cynical and has lost it's sense of wonder (which is why I indetify with the Gilliam film "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" so much). Jay had some of the following two sad but true observations aboot magic...
Right now, I don't think most people see magic in a light that is capable of
really changing their relationship to the world. Magic is seen as silly,
corny, etc. and frankly, it is irrelevant to people's lives. Until we
create magic that relatest to what people really care about (not sponges,
not signed cards, not lemons) we should not expect to be seen as anything
other than clowns. Mind you, even clowns seem to have more respect
sometimes.
In the next 20 years, I imagine that the art of magic will continue to be a generally misunderstood butt of countless jokes, often looked down upon by most people as an irrelevant and silly pastime practiced by infantile individuals and performed mostly for kids. I mean, let's face it, that is how the general public sees magic. The problem is that magic has failed to evolve and to find a new place in the world and the arts since the death of vaudeville. We are seen as tricksters and liars, and with good reason. Out of the majority of the arts, we do in fact continue to lie about what we do. "How did you do that?" By magic! Yeah, yeah. But there is a chance, a slim chance, that a new generation of magicians will ditch the top hat and tails, ditch the rabbits, ditch the lame puns and meaningless patter and, if not perform illusions that have a real relevancy to people's lives (and spending weeks in a box suspended over a river doesn't quite count as "relevant!") at least begin to be honest about what we do and about the things which make magic the rare and beautiful artform it really is. (Whew!)
To help with my sanity, I have been getting back to magic.
I think my favorite magician is Jay Sankey, a whacky dude out of Toronto. I just love his thinking. He really gets into the psychology and philosophy of magic.
Jay has been responding to questions on a private bulletin board that I occasionally monitor and have access to. I think the world has become too mean and cynical and has lost it's sense of wonder (which is why I indetify with the Gilliam film "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" so much). Jay had some of the following two sad but true observations aboot magic...
Right now, I don't think most people see magic in a light that is capable of
really changing their relationship to the world. Magic is seen as silly,
corny, etc. and frankly, it is irrelevant to people's lives. Until we
create magic that relatest to what people really care about (not sponges,
not signed cards, not lemons) we should not expect to be seen as anything
other than clowns. Mind you, even clowns seem to have more respect
sometimes.
In the next 20 years, I imagine that the art of magic will continue to be a generally misunderstood butt of countless jokes, often looked down upon by most people as an irrelevant and silly pastime practiced by infantile individuals and performed mostly for kids. I mean, let's face it, that is how the general public sees magic. The problem is that magic has failed to evolve and to find a new place in the world and the arts since the death of vaudeville. We are seen as tricksters and liars, and with good reason. Out of the majority of the arts, we do in fact continue to lie about what we do. "How did you do that?" By magic! Yeah, yeah. But there is a chance, a slim chance, that a new generation of magicians will ditch the top hat and tails, ditch the rabbits, ditch the lame puns and meaningless patter and, if not perform illusions that have a real relevancy to people's lives (and spending weeks in a box suspended over a river doesn't quite count as "relevant!") at least begin to be honest about what we do and about the things which make magic the rare and beautiful artform it really is. (Whew!)