Nik's Occasional Blog

Derren Brown - Svengali

2011-04-06T22:53:00.000+01:00

How do you talk about a show when you’ve promised not to tell?

I went to see it in Bradford yesterday, and my verdict is simply that fans of the impish Mr Brown will love the show as it ticks all the boxes that you’d expect to be ticked.

I found myself doing a lot of audience watching during the show and it was wonderfully apparent that the mind monger had them in the palm of his hand.

The show does feel that it has a lighter touch than previous shows, maybe because Andy Nyman’s not involved? But saying that there’s always a darker second half… There’s even a bit of ‘bizarre’ in it as well…

I’m deliberately switching off my thinking-too-much-magician-brain for this one, but with my thinking-too-much-drama-academic-brain remains on and I do feel that there are some minor problems with the dramaturgy of the show … but who am I to criticise, I am a mere brass cog in the great steampunk machine …

There I said nothing.

Well certainly very little.

Paranormality

2011-03-06T22:18:00.001Z

It’s been a week in which, between lurking various forums watching several pitched battles between mystery entertainers and men with sponge bunnies, I’ve been reading Richard Wiseman’s new pop-psychology book Paranormality. It was an interesting journey.

Fresh from the general grumpiness I felt after reading Sleights of Mind (see previous blog post), I didn’t hold out much hope for Paranormality. Wiseman’s stance of the ‘sceptical magician’ had me worried, were we going to get an exposure fest in the glorious name of science?

Not quite, which is a good thing.

Wiseman does go into some stuff, but it’s not problematic and is dealt with in such a fluffy, pop psyche way there’s little to be annoyed about. In fact, if you know where to look there’s some creative mileage in the waiting to be exploited by the mystery entertainer. I’ve been left with a few ideas, something I didn’t expect from a book like this. And to be honest it’s a fun read.

I didn’t like the conclusion though; Wiseman’s notion of wonder is also another man’s mundanity, Come on, there is room for ambiguity; there is room for magic.

Putting the tricks back into magic - Sleights of Mind: Magic and Neuroscience

2011-02-09T21:07:00.002Z

I’ve been spending the last few days trying to like the Sleights of Mind. I simply can’t. I’m not convinced that this ‘popular science’ book does any favours to the art of magic. It may have grand ideas and grand science behind it, but it trivialises magic back into mere tricks, and then exposes them – sometimes alarmingly so. This trivialisation was all the more apparent to me when I saw the cartoon style feature/advert for the book in a newspaper supplement; entitled the ‘real secrets of magic’ it concentrated solely on exposure.
However, exposure isn’t the biggest problem for me – it’s the uneasy feeling I get when I see magic turned into mere tricks – or as the authors call it ‘head hacking’. The magicians who collaborated with the authors are firmly in the ‘magic is all tricks’ camp, but no consideration is given to magicians who want to move away from magic being seen as tricks and puzzles with solutions. What is wrong with going to a performance of magic, suspending disbelief and for the duration actually enjoy the experience of magic? Having your mind read? Seeing spirit messages appear?
Similarly, many magicians structure their entire act by creating a worldview that suggests that magic happens by other means (I’m being deliberately cagey here) – there is no space for that it this book. The view of magic it puts across is cold, clinical and silly. It’s almost like watching a magician perform and after each effect someone come outs and tells you how the ‘trick’ was done. For me that’s not what magic should be about.
I find the philosophy of exposure in the final chapter worrying, and I’m disappointed how it seems to disregard other genres of performance magic(k). (Think back to some of Penn’s comments during the ‘Fool Us’ TV show.)

Even so, I doubt this book will do much harm to our art. I just find this singular view of magic problematic.

Also see my TAM 7 blog entry.

Gift Magic (2)

2011-02-07T20:48:00.001Z

A book all about generosity we can find in magic; how we can be generous in our performance and also how we can be generous by sharing our creativity with other magical artists. It's simple subtitle 'Performances that Leave People with Souvenir' belies a much deeper treatise on gifting magic. From gentle subtleties like the placing of a spectator's hands, to important discourse on the nature of our art. There is real milage in this kind of thinking; to quote the cover; 'subtle secrets that will make [...] performances unforgettable.'

Gift Magic

2011-02-04T21:59:00.000Z

I'll probably blog about Gift Magic soon, in the meantime I wanted to share this from one of the chapters;

I would say that as magicians, as artists, it is important that our giving is not only created, but performed. Indeed, magic is a performing art. It is odd to have to underscore this fact, but again, in our market-driven magic subculture, we see many people refer to themselves as magicians when all they do is produce product to buy and sell. We have become too tolerant of the extension of the word "magician' to people who are essentially salesmen. They might "perform" on the download, on the DVD, or at the magic lecture, but it is just a means to the ends of market values. I think it might be time for us who care about magic to be a little more discriminating about who we call a magician. Creating a download, selling a trick, demoing a trick, teaching a trick so you can sell it, probably doesn't make a person a magician. On the contrary, a magician, a magical artist, is someone who performs, he or she is a performing artist. They perform hopefully inspired and creative artworks in an inspired and creative way. They seek to "give on" in their own way the gifts they have received from other people, other artists, and artworks.

- Hass, L. ed., 2010. On Giving, Magic & Giving Magic. In Gift Magic. Theory and Art of Magic Press.

Gift Magic is available from Theory and Art of Magic Press.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

2011-01-31T20:34:00.001Z

Being a meandering ramble about not going to Blackpool Convention and my ongoing attempts at not being drawn into the passive consumerism of magic buying.

It’s going to feel strange not going to the Blackpool Convention this year. I won’t be going because I have another project on at the same time, and besides the whole FISM thing doesn’t really appeal to me. But, my main reason feeling a little sad about not going is that I’ll actually miss the Dealers’ Hall. It’s a chance to really see how stuff works, by this I mean how effects really perform when properly demonstrated and most importantly whether the effect is something I’ll actually use. So many effects these days are hyped beyond belief and priced beyond belief. The carefully angled video looks great, but in reality you’re going to pay around £25 for a DVD of a single old unusable technique and you’re going to be disappointed. The snake oil salesmen of the online magic shop will have you believe that you can heal the world with their latest effect. You can’t, and a fool is easily parted with their money.
Perpetuating the flimflam is the snake oil salesman’s hidden assistant the friendly reviewer, who for one reason or the other will happily invent positive things on whatever forum they can get on about the effect. I really dislike that kind of dishonesty. Of course, some reviews go the other way, being uncomfortably venomous about a particular product due to having some axe to grind somewhere. This is just as dishonest.
Review the product in an honest way. The key here is to be genuine; if you are genuinely excited by something great, if you genuinely dislike something great – say it like it is.
That’s why I like the Dealer’s Hall, because a snake oil salesman can always spot another snake oil salesman and the façade drops. More often than not I’ve found honesty in the madness of the crowds (and if you’ve ever been to Blackpool you’ll know what I mean about crowds, and if you’ve been in the Ruskin Bar you’ll know about madness) and I’m able to make rational decisions on whether I’ll actually use the product and whether it is any good.
In many ways I might be a dealer’s nightmare, I don’t buy stuff for the sake of it or to simply own it. I don’t perform a different effect each week (badly) for my mates down the pub and I only buy what I think I may perform. Ironically, I have still managed to collect a box of junk that I know I’ll end up never using, but I’m sure it’s less than most. And I still yearn for a time when I can afford a truly beautiful piece that is more treasured artefact than performable effect. Perhaps I just don’t have as much disposable income?
I like to think I’m carefully selective.

I don’t really know why I started this blog post, but in the haze of a recently passed migraine attack I began to ponder all things to with this magic lark. Perhaps what I’m calling for from dealers and magicians alike is more honesty, less hype and more quality. And there is quality out there and some great artisans of effects (you know who you are.)
I honestly don’t know, perhaps I’m just lamenting because I’m won’t be endlessly circulating the stifling Dealer’s Hall looking for that little gem I’ve never wanted.
Perhaps I’m simply a bit grumpy tonight, oh I don’t know why these things bother me so.

The Magicians – BBC One

2011-01-01T21:02:00.001Z

Let's start the year with a hastily written bit of rantage ...

The Magician is a maker of miracles, the Magician should have a privileged position on the stage, the Magician makes magic happen. We often talk of bad magicians diluting the mystery of magic by simply performing tricks poorly for all and sundry. But what happens when good magicians sign-up to a format designed to cheapen their otherwise great magic into mere tricks?

The BBC pulled it out of their hats with the terrible show The Magicians. There is no need to have celebrities being paired with magicians, there is no need to use a weak competition format, and there is no need for Lenny Henry as host.

A magic show should feature the magician, effects should not be introduced as tricks, and it is not a bloody competition. Why did the beeb not give us a Magic Show? What happened at the meeting when the show was pitched? When does the ideas machine collapse?

“I know let’s do a magic show … but wait let’s add celebs and a competitive format, because let’s face it, our audience is stupid and we could trick them into thinking it’s reality TV – I mean that’s still big, isn’t it? Let’s get Lenny Henry to host, I mean he can put them up in one of his cheap hotels, right? In fact, let’s keep the whole thing cheap, right down to the gaffa tape. And just to make it really cheap let’s use dialogue from the Eurovision Song Contest Presenter’s Joke Book. “

The Magicians isn’t about the magicians. If it was it would be great as the magicians on there are great performers. The Magicians is all in the format, and the format sucks.

What a way to start a new year.

Ok rant over.

The Mystic Menagerie Issue 2

2010-09-20T22:00:00.001+01:00

The communication orb seemed to throb gently in front of the Magician, its diffuse blue glow straying into the flickering half light of the candles guttering on the table. A table strewn with the paraphernalia of arcane and occult practices. A shape began to slowly emerge within the crystal orb. The Magician leant forward, as across the ether the latest issue of Mystic Menagerie was forming, sent on its way by a force known only as the Internet.

Blimey, just went all ‘old school’ bizarre there. But I couldn’t help it. My name is Nik Taylor and I am a Bizarrist. There I said it. While I spend most of my time trying to work out what it means to perform Bizarre Magick, I don’t think I’m alone in seeing a resurgence in this genre of performance magic(k). Indeed some would argue that it never went away ...

These days we are seeing a number of new initiatives to revive the darks arts; Doomsday 2010 at Whitby demonstrated the range and scope of creative energy in the world of the bizarre and now we have the ‘occasional e-zine‘ The Mystic Menagerie. I suspect many of you would have downloaded the first issue simply because it was free. If you didn’t you should. I hope most downloaders were pleasantly surprised with the content.

Issue 2 - Front Cover

Well, now issue 2 is released and for sale exclusively from www.lebanoncircle.co.uk and it does not disappoint. Dan Baines’ Corpse Candle is worth the amazing cover price alone; A great idea for creating ‘spook lights’. This item is covered in great detail and fills eighteen pages! It has step by step details with accompanying photographs showing exactly how to make and operate the lights. I’m certainly going to experiment with these for a project I have in mind next year.

This issue also features strong effects by Graham Yates and Paul Prater. Key to these effects is framing and the performance of the story is the thing. In this sense I would argue that these items fall into a form of traditional bizarre magick where established effects are taken out of their comfort zone and given a new lease of life as part of a grander narrative. Anyone familiar with Invocation and New Invocation will know that this can be done very well or very badly. I’m happy to say these two effects fall into the former category.

Freddie Valentine edits the e-zine and contributes a number of short articles concerning the performance of the bizarre, often raising many of the eternal questions about our art. I particularly liked his collected review of Black Hart products. I really welcome this kind of thing, as I remember my first visit to the Black Hart catalogue and thinking, ‘hmm, where do I start?’. This article would have answered those questions.

Bertoneski sticks it all together and contributes a great little postscript entitled ‘The Bit at the Back’ it’s like a Stumbleupon or a Digg for bizarrists and has loads of stuff you’ll want to follow up.

The Mystic Menagerie Issue 2 is well worth a download. I can see this one going from strength to strength and I hope it gains support and a strong readership. Great stuff.

Doomsday

2010-05-09T13:15:00.007+01:00

It's great to have a note in my diary that says May 8th is "Doomsday". No I haven't been privy to some new research into the Mayan calendar, but rather lucky enough to get one of the sought after tickets to the inaugural Bizarre Magick UK Doomsday Gathering in Whitby. The setting itself was rather bizarre; Sneaton Castle, part of St Hilda's Priory and the Order of the Holy Paraclete, an Anglican religious community. The black garbed, pentacle wearing bizarrists raised a few eyebrows, and there was a sense that we were indeed the dark tricksters on site.

Sadly, I couldn't get to the Friday's shenanigans, but judging by Evie, Tristan and Lyndon's demeanor coupled with rumours of pendulums, spirits and pot-noodle, a good night was had by all.

On Saturday Alain the Storyteller (Frank Allen) opened, and closed, the proceedings with a wonderful ceremony that demonstrated why he is one of the best bizarre performers in the UK today.

The day was MC-ed by Michael Diamond who introduced our first lecturer of the day; Roger Curzon. Roger's lecture took us through some very workable material, and introduced new takes on some established effects. His performance was warm and humorous and a great start to the day.

We then had an extended lunchbreak to chat, browse the dealers and be told off by the nuns for sitting on the wrong side of the refectory!

Breaks were plentiful throughout the day and this added to the friendliness of the event. It felt like you had plenty of time to have a cup of coffee, socialise and eat holy ginger biscuits. I had great chats with Frank, Paul, Ashton, Dan, Roni, etc. etc. The sense of community was excellent.

The afternoon started with a lovely tongue-in-cheek performance by Brian Maxwell. This was followed, after the break, with a very interesting lecture by Robert Allen. I spoke to Robert at length about his approach to developing a bizarre/storytelling piece of theatre, his lecture helped illustrate his thoughts and he agreed to talk to me further about his approach (I feel a case study for my research coming on).

Steve Murray then took the stage for a performance set involving the cleansing of a witch and the divining of spirits. Steve's act showed some strong creative thinking in subtly linking several effects into a whole concept.

The final act was Leslie Melville (William Warlock) who gave us excerpts from his new gothic storytelling show. I was entranced with the simple beauty of his spirit glass!

The day was simultaneously exciting and exhausting. I've learnt many new secrets (mostly involving Morrisons or Wilco) and have come away several ideas for future projects.

My diary has a new date, Doomsday II.

Too Many ideas, can I find the time?

2010-03-21T21:43:00.003Z

I'm about four weeks behind on an article I'm trying to write, but I think that's to be expected considering it's been a hectic 10 week term! I know I need to get my head down and finish it, but, as usual, I have several ideas I want to play with next. The trick will be to keep focused on this task before moving on.

However, I must admit I am doing a bit of multi-tasking as well; I'm in the process of carefully scripting some effects, preparing something about magic and the researcher and kick-starting my mindfulness practice again. Only then will I be allowed to think about the next two projects I have in mind.

Things are going to be quite different for me in the second half of this year, so I'm going to need to be a planning ninja.

I'm also going to try and blog some of this work a but more regularly, but most of it might be put in the 'private area'.

Which reminds me, I'm off there now.

Back to the Magick

2010-01-30T13:43:00.004Z

Wow, it's been a busy/hectic/intensive three weeks. I've been working with a great bunch of students on their third year perfromance. Here I am on stage with them in rehearsal.

This was always going to be three weeks away from my magick research, but it's back to the dusty tomes with a vengeance. And to kick-start it all Dr Todd will be performing in the very studio you see above. Box office tells me that the show is a sell-out, which is great news.

Looking across my desk I see that I have about 11,000 pages of research material to get through and an article to write. (I've made a plan)

On another note, we have a new kitten at Taylor Towers™. I left it to the students to name him and they chose Houdini. So Houdini it is, already shortened to Houdy most of the time. He's currently trying to chew my mouse cable, and yesterday he somehow managed to send a tweet! (I haven't yet decoded the message.) Here's a photo for all you cat fans out there.

Right, time to prepare for the closing night!

An Evening of Metaphysical Magic

2010-01-02T14:56:00.004Z

It's going to be an exciting year with the first Magic event of 2010 scheduled February. We are very happy to welcome Dr. Todd who will be bringing his show An Evening of Metaphysical Magic to The University of Huddersfield on the 4th of February. This is an event not to be missed so book now!

An Evening of Metaphysical Magic
Deja vu? Coincidence? Statistical Probability? Or something more?

Date: Thursday, 04 February 2010
Time: 19:30 - 22:00
Location: Milton Theatre, Studio One. The University of Huddersfield.

An evening of brain-boggling investigations into the universe, reality and the inner workings of the mind.

Tickets: £5.00 / £3.00 (concessions)

For further details and to book contact The Box Office: miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk

Here's a link to the event on Facebook.

Horror

2009-12-20T12:24:00.003Z

It's been a hectic term at University and as usual my thinking about magic took a back seat (I really need to get this work/magic balance sorted out). I'm currently forming some ideas on bizarre/horror magic (deadline March 2010) as well as being in the early stages of planning a series(?) of seances with Start Nolan (deadline All Hallow's Eve 2010). Oh, and I'm still in dialogue with the publisher concerning the 'secret project', so far documents keep bouncing backwards and forwards.

I did find time to attend Tabula Mentis VI and had an inspiring day. I'm hoping to be able to get down to London for the next one, but I'll see what the new year brings.

Remember Dr. Todd is performing at the University of Huddersfield on the 4th Feburary 2010; Be there!

Lavater - The Shadow of History

2009-10-14T15:10:00.003+01:00

For one night only - 13th November 2009 - 7.30pm.

The noted physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801) returns for one night only to reclaim his place at the centre of European culture, armed with magic lantern, silhouette apparatus and a curious tale of photographic experimentation in his Zürich cellar. Lavater was a contradictory figure of the late Enlightenment – a churchman who believed in magic – and his influential Essays on Physiognomy created a fashion for silhouette portraiture that outlasted his arcane, deterministic theories, and establish him as a significant prototype photographer. This presentation includes lantern slides, audience involvement and live photographic experiment.

Simon Warner is a photographer, artist filmmaker and researcher into the history of photography and visual media. With a NESTA Fellowship he has created a series of impersonations of European cultural figures: Goethe, Daguerre, Lavater and Herschel. His Lavater presentation was included in the Arts Council England touring exhibition Alchemy . Recent projects include Victorian photography residencies at the Brontë Parsonage and Florence Nightingale Museums, and silhouette drawing installations for The Last Tuesday Society and The House of Fairy Tales. Simon is currently artist in residence on the No.36 bus between Leeds and Ripon, courtesy of Harewood House, PSL [Project Space Leeds] and Transdev Harrogate & District.

Invocation

2009-09-22T13:10:00.001+01:00

I’ve had a fascinating time indulging in a close reading of Invocation/New Invocation magazine the seminal publication for Bizarre Magick. The Invocation edited by Anthony Raven (Bob Lynn) ran for 16 issues from July 1974 to April 1978. Then as the New Invocation for 61 issues edited by Masklyn Ye Mage (Tony Andruzzi) from October 1979 to February 1991. After which Docc Hilford took the helm for a further 22 issues.

I’ve only been able to examine the Raven and Mage years as the HIlford issues are yet to be republished (apparently Deceptions Unlimited are working on an edition), but the issues I have looked at tell of a remarkable time in magic(k) performance. A real movement away from the entertainment magic of the day, giving some original thinking on all aspects of bizarre performance. The publication shows us the development of this thinking, from the bizarre to the goetic to the ‘sound gothic revival’.

Max Maven states in his forward to Volume 2 that ‘[here] you will find a wide range of material....Most of it is crap.’ I rejoice in this crapness as many of the effects represent a vibrant period of experimentation on subjects then untouched by magicians. Issue 61 serves as a footnote to all that hard work with its series of essays that represent a state of the art photograph of the genre.

Invocation and New Invocation represent a history of delightfully subversive magickal thought, but shouldn’t be seen in isolation. The reader must return to the pages of Magick or the various books published by the regular columnists. Bizarre magick is a complex and exciting phenomenon that ‘gave back to magicians their identity’ (Minch). Elements of the bizarre are still with us today, and just as popular.

Electronics for Magicians (review)

2009-07-26T14:15:00.003+01:00

Electronics for Magicians by Jon Thompson

At The Amazing Meeting Seven this year there was a fascinating presentation by Steve Bauer who talked about winding up the estate of Jerry Andrus and in particular the incredible and eccentric inventions and gizmos found in the Andrus house, called the Castle of Chaos. I like to think Jon Thompson has a similar gaff, filled with electronic bits and bobs, and the air heavy with the smell of melting solder. That’s how an inventor’s place should be like.

Now I haven’t played with electronics for many years. In fact my soldering iron is gathering dust on the shelf and my bags of resistors, transistors and capacitors are lost in the Narnian depths at the back of a wardrobe somewhere. However, after reading Electronics for Magicians I’m going to dig all my old kit out.

This ebook is excellent for people new to electronics and people who know the pain that a burn from soldering iron can give. It provides perhaps the clearest introduction to the world of electronics I have read for a long time (So clear that I am considering buying a couple more copies and ‘censoring’ the magic out them and giving them to a couple of technical theatre students of mine.)

Components, circuits and the possibilities for magicians are explained in good depth and plenty of ideas are given as to how to use them in practice. A couple of projects are given, but as Chapter Seven suggests the key here is your creativity in using the electronics to your own ends. I’m certainly inspired to make, create and invent.

http://stores.lulu.com/booksbytomo

Recommended.

Leaving Las Vegas

2009-07-12T20:39:00.001+01:00

I really enjoyed the Amazing Meeting 7 this weekend, and I didn’t need to go to Las Vegas for it. OK, so I would have gone to Vegas if I could, but the power of the interweb allowed me to watch it all online.

I was particularly fascinated by the panel discussion on Magic and Scepticism. A bit of a circular debate, but central to it was the problem of ethics in mental magic. More specifically do we need to tell the truth when we perform? Do we add disclaimers, and do we lie in our disclaimers? The Panel, unsurprisingly argued for the truth teller. Questioning the performances of Banachek and Derren Brown and hoping that everyone would come completely clean eventually. To paraphrase Penn “we do F***ing magic tricks”.

I’m still not sure as to where I stand in the debate. Ethics is something I wrestle with whenever I write or perform. But I appreciate that “lying” has a place in all performance work, but there are degrees to this and a scale as to what may or may not be acceptable. I’m certainly uncomfortable when spectators are drawn in beyond the level of seeing me as a trickster and we slip into the realm of the pseudo-psychic. Hasty re-writing and looking at my audience management is usually needed, but sometimes it’s purely because the spectator is in a position to want to believe.

Magicians do have an ethical responsibility, but we are also Magicians this often means juggling a complex performance persona.

Spiggie xxx

2009-07-08T21:08:00.002+01:00

We lost Spiggie today.

Sleep well my little monster xxxx

Fortune Telling with Playing Cards

2009-06-28T20:46:00.003+01:00

I found some wonderful fortune-telling cards today.

As far as I can tell it's a Nile 68x deck from the US Playing Card Co. c.1904, but distributed in this country by Foulsham & Co as The Gypsy Bijou Deck. BUT Foulsham & Co. also had a deck out in 1910 called the Gypsy Bijou with was very different having 36 illustrated cards. The art work on my deck box is the same, however the words "Made in the USA" appear on my box, whereas the 1910 box didn't have that printed on it. So did Foulsham briefly sell the Nile 68x as the Gypsy Bijou deck around 1904, before making their own deck in 1910? The Box I have looks a lot like the original Nile 68x box, but with a Foulsham label.

I'm not sure of their UK history, but I'm loving these cards.

monstrous media/spectral subjects

2009-06-26T13:12:00.002+01:00

Hoping to get a good lot of writing done for monstrous media/spectral subjects conference in July.

Myself and Stuart Nolan are presenting a paper and performing around the subject of bizarre magic.

Stuart has started a thread at Magic Cafe, but it seems to have moved on to talk about gothic youth culture, rather than the gothic.
The Thread can be found here:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=318667&forum=14&17

Believe it or not this was my first post on Magic Cafe!

As a fellow presenter and performer at the said conference, I though I’d chip into the thread. (And as my first post)

I think it's really important not to blur Gothic (youth?) Sub-culture with Gothic (literature based?) themes. Yes, you can argue for a cross-over, but the themes of excess /transgression/the sublime should be separated for the purposes of analysis.

The meta-language/meta-narrative dramaturgy of the bizarre performer is perhaps the most complex in magic, but it simultaneously and delightfully simple.

The construction of the performance text of the bizarre magician, in my mind has very little to do with the construction of the performance text of a band like the "Sisters of Mercy" (Who are the best and only true goth band ever )

But inevitably going back to Goth (youth?) culture and ‘embracing the butcher’; this died as soon it became commercial, in much the same way as punk. So-called Goth bands borrow more freely from a wider circle of themes derived, in the main, from commercial sources.

Yours being delightfully ambiguous and circling my arguments,

Nik

Blogger? Oh yeah.

2009-06-07T21:48:00.002+01:00

In the midst of twittering I've realised that I have neglected my little blog here.

Shame really as I quite enjoyed writing here, perhaps I've re-discovered you Mr. Blog?

I'm a very busy chap at the moment, deep into PhD research, re-designing the Viz Suite, looking at sideshows for the L*** P***** project, preparing a new bizarre magic act + writing a paper with Stuart and finishing up what's been a busy academic year. Hardly time to catch my breath really.

I need to be organised !

So maybe I will write more, but for now ... it's Twitter lol

Define Magic

2009-04-04T09:31:00.007+01:00

Can you define "magic" in 120 characters or less including spaces?

An event so extraordinary that I don't care how it occurred, I just lose myself in the wonderment of its effect. MurrayMoss

Recreating reality KellyJS

A trick or illusion that is considered magical by observers. E Gibbs

An act that defies or broadens our perceptions of how the world works. D Calvert

sufficiently advanced technology Harry Harrold

A suitably skilled display of some sorts which incorporates an illusion and beguiles the masses. yetidave

Completely fake but gets people squeeling like a demented pig if performed correctly. Ruth J

Magic = making something impossible out of what you have. Ie something out of nothing or v little Tittch

being able to do the impossible Iain

The art of astonishment Replicant

Magic is the beguiling offspring of true effect and false cause, created to masquerade as an impossible whole. Tomo

taking the practical and making it look impossible magicdiscoman

The illusion of impossibility M Jay

Making the impossible possible wiffyboy

Magic is The Most Beautiful Art Form, which is created from within the circumstance, and which happens in the moment G Williams

watching your head grow and then shrink. C Ellis

Magic. A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. A Ratcliffe (via W Churchill)

How Magic Began

2009-02-09T12:38:00.003Z

It's been a great morning organising and writing the script for a performance I'm delivering in March. It's a "performed paper", to lay-people, all about my research into Performance Magic. I'm talking about lots of things in the paper, but a key focus will be Ali Bongo's book of Magic from 1981 and the magic I performed when I was a kid.

This was, and still is, my favourite book on magic. The Introduction, which also begins the performance, sums up magic beautifully;

How Magic Began

Thousands of years ago, one of the first cavemen discovered that banging two flint stones together produced sparks which would light a fire. To the other members of his tribe he would have seemed like a great magician, able to create fire, just like the lightning which came out of the sky.

Ever since, people have been trying to make things happen that are contrary to the laws of nature. This constant search for the strange and curious was the beginning of all scientific knowledge we have today. Many of the first wise men and scientists used their knowledge to make other people think that they had great and mysterious powers. Other men found that they could use the same secrets to amaze people and make them laugh. These were the first magical performers. In this book, you will learn some of those secrets, and will then be able to baffle and amuse your friends with magic.

Magicians make things happen which seem impossible to explain in scientific terms. For instance, no scientist has yet been able to rub a silver coin on his elbow and change it to a lump of gold, or cut a ribbon in half, and join it again perfectly – unless, of course, he also happens to be a magician, and has learned the secrets you will read about in this book.

But there is much more to the wonderful world of magic than just learning secrets. You can be a performer, and have fun entertaining others. You can enjoy making your own magical apparatus, and feel a great sense of satisfaction when it all works. You can also invent new tricks, collect old magic books and apparatus, and meet other magicians through special clubs and societies.

Because magic is so popular, you will find all kinds of people make it their hobby. Wherever you go, magic will bring you many friends and a lot of Pleasure. (Ali Bongo, 1981)

Great stuff!

Good Monday

2009-01-26T16:39:00.002Z

It's been a good day of writing today, and lo I am pleased.

I can tick another step of one project, and await news from the publishers.

And I can happily say I've moved on with my presentation project nicely. Although, it may have another title. I'm thinking of calling it Ali Bongo and Me, although at this rate the title is changing weekly.

So just checking in with my blog, before going downstairs to play some banjo.

Excellent

Multi-tasking

2009-01-19T14:41:00.003Z

Spent the day working on a couple of projects - separated with a cheese on toast lunch (does that count towards your five a day?) - Mainly thinking about the structure of my up coming performance in early March. I don't really want to blog too much about it, because it's still in those planning stages and I'm in a kind of "circling" the wagons research mode at the moment.

I have a different research deadline next week that requires a different academic head on so I've made some notes on that and will need to mull.

Can't find my reading head!

The Future of Blogging

2009-01-08T18:33:00.002Z

I'm beginning to wonder whether blogging is changing into something else.

I've been playing around with storytlr and I'm presented with a whole series of micro blogs from whatever sights and sounds I've web 2.0-ed during the day. OK, It's a summary of the stuff of the day and I do feel that it lacks the framing of a good daily blog post. But if you're a lazy blogger like me it seems a good way of summarising the little things of the day.

Right now I'm considering just using this blog for magic research notes and reports, which would mean that I would blog less (would that be possible? lol).

Oh, we'll see ... the internet is probably just a fad anyway.

Nearly 2009

2008-12-28T21:05:00.001Z

It's meant to be the Christmas holiday, but I seem deep in heuristic evaluation theory (no rest for the wicked hey?). After this piece of writing is done - the evaluation, not this blog entry - I need to have a good look at my calendar and get a little better at organising all these projects I gotten involved with. I'm afraid that it's going to mean putting some of them on hold for the moment, but I'm not going to ignore them. It's just that I've got to free a little more time up to write my PhD in Performance Magic. I've had one of those mini breakthroughs this weekend, and I want to see where it takes me.

Still want to redesign / redirect this website / blog, but that may happen in time.

For now hope you all have a happy new year!

Uri Gellar Awarded Berglas Foundation - Services to Magic Award

2008-12-02T09:11:00.004Z

Uri's award is reported on iTricks here; http://itricks.com/news/?p=5572 and Uri says some interesting stuff in the subsequent interview. Wonder if there'll ever come a time when he will admit it all or whether he'll keep on with the pretence?

... if indeed it is a pretence ... hmmm ;)

December and the Empty Blog

2008-12-01T19:18:00.001Z

It's that time when I realise that I haven't blogged for a while, nor have I updated my website. The website will have to wait, but I should blog more. It's a good writing exercise and every day I think of something to put on here (nothing profound lol), and everyday I end up not putting anything on here.

So will I blog more regularly?

We'll see.

Derren Brown "Tour" 2009

2008-09-11T23:22:00.001+01:00

Very excited to hear that the Lowry is selling tickets for the, as yet unnamed, 2009 tour by Derren Brown. I booked tickets in 2006 for the 2007 Evening of Wonders Tour, so am used to the wait!

2009 is looking good, the great line-up and the Blackpool Convention, followed by a great line-up at the South Tyneside Festival, and then Derren Brown. Excellent.

This Rings True

2008-08-18T20:15:00.001+01:00

Finally getting to catch up with all my reading, when I came across this from the May 2008 Edition of Magic Magazine.

One of the big problems now is that making money with magic has shifted from entertaining the public to making money off of magicians [...] The magic buying sector buys anything it sees - just spends money - and so your fame comes not from being a performer or having great ideas, but by selling through lectures anything that makes you money.

This goes some way in echoing my feelings at the moment as I step back from magic in order to plan the performance work for this year. Sometimes it's hard not to be overwhelmed with consumerism.

Prague

2008-08-17T20:27:00.001+01:00

Just got back from a week in Prague, it's the first time I've been and I must say I loved the place and am keen to go again. We stayed at the Waldstein Hotel in the Little Quarter which was just far enough away from the rather intense tourist trap of central Old Town We avoided as much of the tourist nonsense which threatens to engulf the city in favour of the smaller (and cheaper places).

We took a day out of the city to travel to Kutna Hora. I've always wanted to visit the Ossuary ever since I saw it in a Sunday supplement as a kid. I wasn't disappointed, an amazing place. I would suggest visiting it via public transport (we went by bus); the average price of a day trip is 900 Kč per person if you take one of the numerous tours advertised about the city, If you do it by yourself, it's much more rewarding and cost us about 180 Kč each!

Gottfried Helnwein was exhibiting at the Galerie Rudolfinum which was an added bonus, that coupled with the great work in the Kampa Museum and the inevitable Mucha overload made the couple of days we spent visiting museums a time to remember.

Eating and Drinking highlights of the trip were:

U Zavešenýho Kafe http://www.uzavesenyhokafe.cz/en/
This is a fantastic cafe/bar with excellent food and very friendly, this became a bit of a "base" for us and nice little sanctuary.

Bohemia Bagel http://www.bohemiabagel.cz/
Another haven and some great coffee. I'm becoming a fan of coffee shops like this a lovely place.

Beas http://www.beas-dhaba.cz/
Very cheap Indian vegetarian food can be had here, Excellent stuff right in the heart of Prague. You just have to find it as it's tucked away a bit.

Country Life http://www.countrylife.cz/
Another great place to eat, easy to find and great food.

Maly Buddha http://www.malybuddha.cz/
Gets busy but lovely food.

Windows Live Writer

2008-08-17T09:55:00.001+01:00

OK, so in an effort to push myself back into blogging, I'm trying out a couple of new pieces of technology today. I'm writing this entry using Windows Live Writer, so I have no idea what it might look like, and I'm also using my shiny new eee pc 1000(H).

And that's it for this "test" entry. :)

This is the best book title ever?

2008-05-30T23:15:00.001+01:00

Servants of the Wankh by Jack Vance.

Well, I found it funny.

Gazzo !

2008-05-29T23:20:00.004+01:00

I had a fantastic surprise today. I was walking through Bath and who should I see performing? Yep, that's right; Gazzo, legendary street entertainer / magician. I've been a fan of this guy since I saw his Cups and Balls DVD a few years ago. He's only been in the UK and few days, but will be performing in Bath for the summer. If you're going that way, you really have to go and see him. Tip his hat well!

Back in Bristol, I visited Illusions Magic Bar in Clifton. It's a very welcoming bar with a great layout. It's a shame I couldn't stay longer.

It's May!

2008-05-03T11:47:00.002+01:00

I'm right in the middle of assessment at the moment, but it's also been busy elsewhere;

Ubuntu
I'm completely running on Ubuntu Linux at the moment. It's an experiment in Windows avoidment, I was happy to see how much the whole Linux OS has developed in the last couple of years, and the online support is excellent. And my PC almost works now!

Rehearsals
We've had our first rehearsal for the new show. It was an excellent experiment in rehearsing this type of magic performance. Obviously, I can't say too much about the nitty gritty of the process because that would be exposure! Should be a good show though.

From Hell
Just received From Hell from the Lebanon Circle. A thing of beauty it is too! I'll be using it in a small intimate performance will be a precursor to the new research project into Seance and Bizarre Magic (starting October) and the short performed paper that I'm presenting in the same month.

All is good!

Where the bloody hell have you been?

2008-04-15T17:54:00.003+01:00

It's been a busy couple of months, lots of teaching and assessments and, sadly, not much time for magic. But the spring and summer approacheth and things are freeing up for a summer of magic work. (Did have time for the South Tyneside Convention, which was excellent btw - I dreamt about going to Tabula Mentis but wasn't able too :( )

I hope to be working on the "Will, the Witch ..." cabinet over the summer, but my major focus will be on a developing a couple of shows. Firstly, I'm directing a mentalism stage show and then I'm devising a one-man performed lecture. Both of which should be ready in the Autumn. Oh I'm also running a Bizarre Magic/Seance/spooky research project over next academic year.

It's going to get busy soon (but it's fun busy if you get my meaning?)

Blackpool ...

2008-02-27T07:23:00.002Z

Well, it's taken me a couple of days to recover from the joy that is the Blackpool Convention. It was a good 'un. With an interesting mix of stuff to keep me busy, although I'm not sure how I survived on so little sleep.

I'm not going to write any reviews of the convention as others have done it far better than I could. My favourite is here ...

http://www.naquada.co.uk/category/blackpool2008/

Blackpool

2008-02-17T17:34:00.000Z

Been rehearsing the non-magic show so I haven't really seen daylight for a while ;) The run finishes on Tuesday, then I'll be gearing myself up for Blackpool. Looking forward to it. See you there :)

Yorkshire Post Story

2008-02-05T08:21:00.001Z

Our work at the University appears in the Yorkshire Post today!

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/University-with-a-trick-or.3742638.jp

University Press Release

2008-02-01T13:55:00.000Z

Senior Lecturer Nik Taylor and several students studying magic in the Drama Division at the University of Huddersfield have been made associate members of the Huddersfield Circle of Magicians.

The students, studying magic as part of their BA Drama degrees, have been working on a series of interlinked projects as part a major European research project into magic, theatre and performance, and have been invited by the Circle to a welcome evening on Tuesday 5th Feb.

The Huddersfield Circle of Magicians was formed in 1949 and consists of 24 members ranging in age from 15 to 82. Admission to the Circle is by audition, with would-be members performing a 10-minute act before existing members.

“The Huddersfield Circle of Magicians are proud to have formed this association with the University,” said the 46-year-old Circle Secretary Mark Jordan. “It is excellent to know that the art is being recognised at this level. Having seen some of what Nik and his students are accomplishing, their future input into the world of magic will only serve to enhance performances in magic and illusion.”

“At the evening, members will be performing for the students and beginning the exciting creative process of sharing magical ideas,” explained Nik. “Some of our second year students have already recently devised several magical spectacles, reinterpreting and recreating some of the most famous illusions, acts and personalities from the golden age of Magic, including Houdini’s escapology and the legendary Indian rope trick.

“In addition, third year students are currently undertaking a major study into the principles of magic and performance, from close up through card to fire magic. They have spent the last eighteen weeks developing their own magic acts and are honing their skills for a series of magical evenings in February 2008,” Nik added.

Nik is also working with Drama’s technical manager, David Wainwright, in re-creating the classic illusion used in the famous magic play Will, The Witch and The Watchman (1876 version). The magical vanishing cabinet, in the guise of a village lock-up, will be part of the re-staging of this rarely seen masterpiece of the Victorian era.

Nik and David are also creating a series of full size and working scale models of illusions from the Golden Age of Magic including a copy of Tobin and Stodare’s Sphinx illusion. After being used for the second year show in December it will become part of the collection which it is hoped will tour both nationally and internationally in the next few years firmly putting Huddersfield and the University on the map as a leading centre for the study of magic and performance.

Programme Note to England's Home of Mystery.

2008-01-14T13:48:00.000Z

Magic is about deception, it is also about lying. Magic is an art form that allows you to live without guilt.(1)

In the 19th century (2) the Theatre of Magic took many forms, the Legitimate, the Scientific and the Spiritual. But real magic blurs the boundaries between these forms. An audience would be able to see a performance of magic as magic, or the performance of magic as reality.

Professor Pepper, who first performed his ghost on Christmas Eve 1862, had intended to give a scientific lecture on the ghost’s principles and secrets after every show. Instead he saw the audience’s stunned looks, heard their wild applause and cut the explanation from the performance. He had made Pepper’s Ghost into a magical illusion. He had turned a scientific demonstration into a Magic Show. (3)

The Davenport brothers performed their magic as a lecture demonstration proving the existence of spirits. However, they would never make it clear that they were magicians, which infuriated their audiences who did not respond well to the blurring of forms. They would often cause near riots wherever they played, and were chased out of Huddersfield during a performance here in February 1865. (4)

The Egyptian Hall was at the centre of 19th and early 20th Century Magic. Initially an Egyptian themed building that would house an ever-changing series of curiosities and exhibits, it later came under the control of the great magic family the Maskelynes and soon became England’s Home of Mystery. Here they would present, along with a programme of theatrical magic and illusion, illustrated lectures about the charlatanry of spiritualism. (5)

The blurring of forms is something that the magician relies on and can still be seen today in the work of such conjurers, magicians and fraudsters as Derren Brown, Uri Geller and Derek Acorah.

Tonight’s performance is the culmination of a process of devising through research. We explored The Egyptian Hall, magic and the related arts. The journey has taken us from Professor Hoffman’s early work in codifying for generations what a stereotypical Victorian conjurer should be, (6) through to looking at other conjurers and characters, magical developments and magical places. Finally, we sorted, played and devised with the wealth of material generated, and this is our performance.

The characters and events you see tonight may have existed or happened and they may not have. We are not going to tell you when we lie or when we tell the truth. It is magic so it doesn’t matter and we keep our secrets.

Remember, everything we tell you is a lie. Oh, and so was that.

References
Anon. (2003). The Egyptian Hall. [online] Available at: http://www.georgianindex.net/Bullocks/Egyptian_Hall.html [Accessed November 1st, 2007]
Christopher, M., & Christopher, M. (2006). The Illustrated History of Magic. New York: Carroll & Graf.
Comedy Central Presents. Episode 47 (2001) The Amazing Johnathan. Comedy Central, June 25
Dawes, A. (2007). The Female of the Species: Magiciennes of the Victorian and Edwardian Era. Early Popular Visual Culture, 5(2), 127-150.
Eugene Burger's Magical Voyages. Directed by Max Maven. USA. L&L publishing. [DVD]
From Hell (2001) Directed by A & A Hughes. USA, 20th Century Fox [Film: 35mm]
Hands of the Ripper (1971) Directed by Peter Sasdy. UK, Hammer Film Productions [Film: 35mm]
Harland-Oxley, W. E. (1905). The Egyptian Hall Piccadilly. Notes and Queries, S10(11), 411-412.
Heard, M. (2006). Phantasmagoria. Hastings: The Projection Box.
Hoffman, P. (1876). Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring. London: George Routledge and Sons.
Jenness, G. A. (1967). Maskelyne and Cooke: Egyptian Hall, London, 1873-1904. London: H. Clarke & Co.
Lamont, P. (2004). The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick. London: Abacus.
Lamont, P. (2005). The First Psychic. London: Abacus.
Lloyd, A. (2004). The Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, London. [online] Available at: http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/EgyptianHallPiccadilly.htm [Accessed October 15th, 2007]
Magicusa (2007) Houdini Biography: Harry Houdini Magician-Escape Artist. [online] Availible at: <> [Accessed November 1st, 2007]
Sharpe, S. (1976). The Magic Play. Chicago: Magic Inc.
Steinmeyer, J. (2003). Hiding the Elephant. How Magicians Invented the Impossible. London: Arrow.
Steinmeyer, J. (2005). The Glorious Deception. New York: Carroll & Graf.
Steinmeyer, J. (2006). Art & Artifice and Other Essays on Illusions. New York: Carroll & Graf.
Survey of London: volumes 29 and 30. (1960). (Vol. 2007). London: English Heritage.
Timbs, J. (1865). The Curiosities of London. London: John Camden Hotten.
Topsy-Turvy (1999) Directed by Mike Leigh. UK, October Films [Film: 35mm]

(1) Eugene Burger tells us; “One of the wonderful things about magic is that it teaches you to live without guilt.”
(2) Often called the Golden Age of Magic.
(3) Steinmeyer (2003)
(4) Steinmeyer (2003)
(5) Jenness (1967)
(6) Hoffman (1876)

Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Scarlet

2007-12-31T11:09:00.000Z

"You know a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his trick and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all."

Program Detail

2007-12-17T10:54:00.001Z

This is the programme for the "Englands' Home of Mystery" show ...

SOLD OUT

2007-12-14T11:29:00.001Z

Please note that the show on Monday and Tuesday is now SOLD OUT.

Please don't turn up on the night ... you won't get in ...

Thank you to everyone who has booked a ticket!

Enjoy the show!

The Show Poster

2007-12-09T19:48:00.001Z

Voodoo Box

2007-12-06T13:33:00.000Z

I haven't blogged here for a while as we have been busy rehearsing and devising elements for the new show. Which is now only a couple of weeks away. The structure is getting there and interspersed with monologues and devised work we have a number of magic acts. Including a parody of a "Vegas" style act using Andrew Mayne's Voodoo Box illusion.
All good fun, but very very busy at the moment.
So for now here's a photo of the Voodoo box rehearsal prototype...

The Sphinx

2007-10-31T13:20:00.000Z

There are several elements of the devised work in the melting pot and a few more devising exercises to be completed before we make the big decisions about what goes into the actual show. In the meantime it was back to the illusions.With Will, The Witch... being put on the backburner for now David and I have been working on a version of Tobin and Stodare’s Sphinx Illusion. Taking some plans David had of the Supreme Magic version of the illusion we began to build a prototype and now, with a few tweaks, we're ready to build the real thing.

Week Three

2007-10-22T11:03:00.000+01:00

The group presented some excellent perfromances this week and we now have an interesting collection of characters to work with. However, the major development that has come from this week's work is the decision not to stage Will, the Witch ... this year. Will, the Witch ... will be staged, but not until Spring 2008 this will give us more chance to explore some of the "principles" used, and to get the cabinet just right. As a consequence the performance scheduled for this year will be a presentation of our devising work to date.

The next stage of our devising process will be to look at the "Magic Act", my thoughts so far for a list of possibles is:

The Linking Rings
Indian Basket Lady
The Sphinx
Indian Rope Trick
Straitjacket Escape/Escapology
Black Art
Mindreading
Psycho/Automaton

Week Two

2007-10-17T08:40:00.000+01:00

The performers have been working on the text mentioned in the Week One post and from that we have extracted a number of character "types" to explore in the next stage of the devising process these are:

The Sphinx (I ain't got no body)
Cabinet Maker #1
Cabinet Maker #2
Professor Pepper - type - character
Wandmaker
"Rules of Magic" - type - character
"Old" (before Hoffman) - type - magician
"New" (post Hoffman) - type - magician
Hindu Basket Assistant
Patent Clerk
Maskelyne - type - magician
Psycho - mechanical man
Someone wanting the "spiritual" in magic
A lost (Pepper's) Ghost
A "real" psychic

This week's work will focus on these characters and how to develop them and integrate them into the final piece.

Rehearsals Week One

2007-10-08T14:33:00.000+01:00

Rehearsals have started on the December magic project.

At present the performance has two distinct strands that could really go either way. The first and most obvious is the (re)production of Will, The Witch and the Watchman. A great deal of time on Week One was spent working through the play finding out when the “magic” happened. It was like solving a giant puzzle, but we got there in the end. We think we know when, where and how the changes and the doubling happen. I’m going to leave work on the text there for now as I want to concentrate on the second strand.

Using name plates in rehearsal to see who is who, what is what and where is where ...

Although I will say that my thinking is moving less to an historically accurate production of Will, The Witch and the Watchman, but rather somehow meld it with the second strand/part of the show. At present I’m thinking of a slightly ghostly version i.e. somehow the figures we see at the start of the performance choose to recreate the piece for some reason.

Anyway, I hope that comes from the work we do over the next few weeks on strand two. Here most of the material will be generated by the performers from documentary evidence either supplied by me or through their own research. To kick start this process, we looked at The BBC Documentary The History of Magic – Disappearances, Steinmeyer’s Hiding the Elephant and The Introduction to Professor Hoffman’s Modern Magic.I’ll hold my thoughts there for now and see what the performers come up with in Week Two.

(re)building

2007-09-18T15:31:00.000+01:00

I have a new found respect for professional builders of illusions. Making the cabinet from scratch really makes you appreciate the though that has gone into the work. We've had to re-measure and re-build slightly, but the cabinet is getting there. Budget has constrained the quality of the materials at hand, but it's been a fantastic research exercise.
Listen to me, I sound like the cabinet is all finished. It isn't. It's just that we've reached a reflective moment in the research process. And also a terrifying realisation that I'll find out who my actors are next week.

Actually working on the script, researching and devising is going to take the project to another level.

The cabinet will be what it is, and function for what we need it for.

Bars

2007-09-07T15:51:00.000+01:00

The Cabinet is now taking shape ... we're getting to work on it piecemeal at the moment, but it's coming on.

I'll start working with the actors in the first week of October ...

Top on!

2007-08-09T21:27:00.000+01:00

With the help of the two Davids the cabinet now has three sides and a roof. The mirrors have arrived and over the next few weeks we'll be working out the design for the inside . . .

From: Performing Dark Arts - Michael Mangan ...

2007-08-08T13:14:00.000+01:00

One of the most brilliant TV magicians, however, was Uri Geller, who first rose to fame in the Sixties and the early Seventies. He used — and at the time of writing continues to use — television as an essential tool of his magic, standing on its head the commonplace that magic only really works in a live setting: the theatre, street or the close-up of table magic. Geller’s most effective stage was not the theatre, or even the televised magic spectacular. It was the TV chat show - a genre of popular entertainment which appears to position itself as a form of live encounter. The chat show creates and exploits celebrity at the same time as its contrived intimacy appears to deny the falseness of celebrity ,since it carries with it the implication that the audience is being given a privileged - and honest - view behind the scenes of celebrity life. It is, in effect, an extremely effective form of misdirection in itself. Thus, bending spoons on stage in a magic show is one thing: doing it in the relaxed environment of the chat show is another thing entirely. In that context, Geller was implicitly saying — ‘This is not showbiz; this is me. I’m really doing this. Look, come closer, bring the cameras in as close as you like. This is reality.’ The patter is the same but the framework is different. This is the showman apparently offstage. And as a piece of showmanship it is superb. By claiming a genuine paranormal power he sets himself apart not only from rival conjurors, but also from the dominant ways in which the western mind has traditionally explained the universe. He is making a huge claim: if, as he suggests, he can bend the spoon or make your watch stop simply by the power of his will, then we have to re-think the whole way in which we understand the laws of nature and our place in the cosmos. Little wonder that fellow magicians denounced him: not only was Geller breaking some kind of unwritten rule by Claiming paranormal powers, he was doing so in a way that was commercially enormously successful. He was turning himself into a celebrity - one of the most powerful forms of twentieth-century metamorphosis.

Fellow conjuror James Randi has carried on a debunking campaign against Geller which is comparable to Houdini’s crusade against the spiritualist Marjorie. In this ongoing confrontation, Randi takes the part of the Enlightenment rationalist. In fact Randi has developed his initial position of rational scepticism into a kind of intellectual mission: the website of the ‘James Randi Educational Foundation’ is no ten-cent School of Magic like the young Professor Houdini’s, but a well-presented, wide-ranging and intelligent ‘non-profit learning resource aimed at promoting critical thinking everywhere’. But where does that leave Geller? Randi would say it leaves him among the ‘miracle-mongers’ who attempt to deceive a gullible world by claiming that their sleights of hand are genuine wonders. Another way of looking at it, however, is to see Geller as exploiting the very condition of postmodemity which Baudrillard terms the ‘precession of simulacra’, where, in societies saturated by images, distinctions between the simulated and the real have collapsed.

These are societies in which men and women make offers of marriage to characters
in soap operas; where television villains are confronted in the street and
warned about the possible future consequences of their villainous behaviour;
where television doctors, television lawyers and television detectives regularly
receive requests for help and advice.

In this context, perhaps Uri Geller should be seen, not as a traditional charlatan but as the first truly postmodern magician?

A little bit more of the Cabinet

2007-07-31T21:12:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update on the build ... we've started making the frame for the Cabinet... more later :)

Ordered, now reading

2007-07-20T07:45:00.001+01:00

Most of the materials have been sourced and ordered for the production of the "Will..." In the meantime I'm reading Performing Dark Arts by Michael Mangan. Performance Theory and Magic .... Excellent :)

Early Ideas for Will, the Witch and the Watchmen build.

2007-07-03T13:16:00.000+01:00

David Wainwright and myself have begun the task of developing/recreating the cabinet(village lockup) for my research into Will, the Witch and the Watchman. We made the decision early on to scratch build our own version of the vanishing cabinet.

Firstly, we wanted to determine a good size for our cabinet. The first image shows a 4ft by 4ft cabinet taped out on the floor. This would make the concealment area too small*.

We, then taped out another two sizes of concealment area, and found the left-hand one on the picture below to be the best size. This would mean that the cabinet would be 5ft by 5ft (we'll probably make the cabinet 6ft 6" high).

We then taped out the 5ft by 5ft version on the studio floor.

Using this information we developed a 3d model of the framework.

And then started to add some detail...

We've already discovered a few problems with our initial ideas for the framework and David is going to take these thoughts away and begin work on a scale model of the illusion. This should hopefully help with the large amount of problem solving this project will require.

* I don't regard any mention here of a concealment area as exposure as I feel Hiding the Elephant brings such things into the public domain. However, I will not expand upon any methods in this public blog (I have a nice private area for these things).

References:

Sharpe, Sam (1976) The Magic Play Chicago, Magic Inc.
Jennes, George Arthur (1967) Maskelyne and Cooke: Egyptian Hall, London. 1873-1904 Enfield: The Author
Steinmeyer, Jim (2005) Hiding the Elephant London: Arrow
Steinmeyer, Jim (2007) The Language of Illusion in Genii (Vol 70 Number 1 pp 46-47)

A Great Review

2007-06-10T12:04:00.000+01:00

I came across a great review of the latest Derren Brown Show. Here; Derren Brown - An Evening of Wonders.

Video of Will, The Witch and the Watch(man)

2007-06-01T13:12:00.000+01:00

Just missed out on getting a video of The Will, The Witch and The Watch(man) from ebay. It was the recreation from the 1997 Magic History Conference in L.A. It would have been good to see, there is some debate at whether this is a legitimate copy or not. :/

Theatre of the Mind - Barrie Richardson

2007-05-28T12:55:00.000+01:00

Several effects of note in this great book, I can't put them on the public blog; so some thoughts and handling can be found here Theatre of the Mind - Barrie Richardson. Effects covered so far: Ovation Position (pg.5), The Trick that Fooled Einstein (pgs. 119 & 175), Center Shtick (pg. 184) & Gestalt Vision (pg.213).

Cabaret du Néant

2007-05-27T16:54:00.000+01:00

Here's a wonderful explanation of a Pepper's Ghost effect, this time from Cabaret du Néant. I won't go into too much detail as it's all explained on this site. This could be a way forward for the show in December.

How it was done ...

Much like the version I would like to present; blogged here.

More Ghosting

2007-05-24T14:03:00.000+01:00

OK, I couldn't resist so here's a WYSIWYG render of a theatrical Pepper's Ghost. This uses the traditional method of an enlarged orchestra pit that forms the black-matt covered oven where the ghost hides. In this case the creeping man in the picture is really a reflection in the angled glass that completely covers the stage opening. Everything else is behind the glass and on the real stage. Timing in performance is very important as the actor can't see each other. Hence the reason most performances were in dumb show to music. Another reason for the dumb show being the bloody great piece of glass between the stage performers and the audience.
I won't be making one of these for the show in December, it's far too big and bulky for my purposes, it would be fun though. :)
For now I'll stick with the original idea of using the cloistered arches for the effect (measurements permitting).

Pepper's Ghost

2007-05-23T22:08:00.001+01:00

Here's a WYSIWYG version of Pepper's Ghost. This isn't a recreation of the original design, but a simpler version that uses the same principle. I've based this model on the plans at www.phantasmechanics.com/pepper.html. I think I will adopt this method for the show in December (equipment permitting).
The Screen and the Guitar are solid and in the scene you see in front of you. You are, however, looking through a piece of glass angled at 45 degrees. The Mannequin is a partial reflection in the glass and is actually placed in an area to the right of the scene. This plan view might help illustrate this. You're looking into the scene from the bottom left if you get my meaning.

I might try and make a more authentic model if I have the time, but at the moment I'm quite pleased with the results so far and this set-up should work well. Besides an authentic version might be a little out of our budget!

Another Render

2007-05-22T22:28:00.000+01:00

This is my second WYSIWYG render of the cabinet, this time with the little something added that makes it special. I'm quite intrigued to see whether some other old illusions might work under the WYSIWYG/Sketchup treatment.

Very Early Render

2007-05-21T22:29:00.000+01:00

Here's a very early WYSIWYG render of a very basic Will, The Witch and The Watchman Cabinet. Hopefully we will begin to measure up for a real one at the beginning of June. In the meantime building the 3D Model(s) is helping me see the thing and maybe avoid a few problems later.

From the Times

2007-05-19T20:11:00.000+01:00

The Times Tuesday, Apr 12, 1887; pg. 8; Issue 32044; col A

The Times Friday, Jun 17, 1887; pg. 2; Issue 32101; col A

The Magic Play

2007-05-18T21:41:00.000+01:00

Magic Books by Post sent me a copy of The Magic Play by Sam Sharpe Chicago:Magic Inc. (1976). I'm not letting myself read to much of it as I have other things happening at the moment. Other exciting things happening on The Will, The Witch and Watchman, so stay tuned.

Quick Quotation #2

2007-05-16T07:52:00.000+01:00

One of the wonderful things about magic is that it teaches you to live without guilt.

Eugene Burger, Magic Voyages Vol:1

Quick Quotation #1

2007-05-13T17:55:00.000+01:00

There are no rules in creative expression. The key to growth in magic or any other art form is to experience, to experiment, to try. If there are boundaries and limits to be discovered, they should be discovered for oneself.

Parr, David "the magic word: experiment" in Magic Magazine April, 2007 Vol 16 No. 8 pg.25

Any Card Any Number

2007-05-09T15:28:00.000+01:00

I'm intrigued by the idea of any card at any number (sometimes called the Berglas Effect). It has an interesting reputation. I stPublishill haven't found a version that I really like. The nearest I've got to it is Barrie Richardson's impromptu card at any number effect. I had a look at Ian Rowland's, but it wasn't for me.

I'm going to experiment with Barrie Richardson's for a while, there's a lovely simplicity in the effect, and it can be done with a borrowed deck and the final run of cards can be counted by the spectator. I just need to find the right patter/delivery to the find reveal. My previous experiments seemed a little muddy as to my intention. I guess that's what rehearsals are for.

Private

2007-05-09T11:34:00.000+01:00

I had intended this Blog to be public, but depending on where my research takes me I may have to make it private. Until then there will be NO EXPOSURE here.

Derren Brown - Mind Reader

2007-05-09T07:49:00.000+01:00

Mindful of producing spoilers, I'm not going to discuss this show too much. I've been chatting to several lay people from the audience and the reactions have been positive and interesting in terms of their attempts at guessing methods. I think the performance and the disguising of method is more subtle in this show (in comparison to Something Wicked). This show also has more magic in it. I hope they produce a TV version/DVD of this show as both would make for an interesting comparison.

Random Thoughts on Magic etc., etc.

2007-05-03T13:34:00.000+01:00

This is a bit of a random blog of things discussd over lunch.

Ethics of Suggestion/NLP --->>> The interaction of Audience / Performer

Performance --->>> magic as conclusion or magic as part of performance.

Status of Performer.

Possible? --->>> Tempest production with magic.

Right just listening to gomagicgo podcast now.

Blog moved.

2007-05-01T17:26:00.000+01:00

The blog has moved back to igjac.blogspot.com as it seems I can't display my post tags (well "label" to use Blogger terminology) if I choose to host the blog elsewhere. Hmmm, there may be a way around this, but never mind.

"A Leak in the Universe"

2007-05-01T16:48:00.000+01:00

The Magic of John Tudor - Writings - "A Leak in the Universe"

I've just been reading the above, and coming from the position of a Drama Academic (who's also a Magician) I'm a little disappoined at the hurried scholarship here. I'm going to put it to one side and look elsewhere for a "way in" to this area. This is not it.

The New Blog

2007-04-29T19:19:00.000+01:00

The framework of the new website is up and running. I plan to archive stuff there whenever I can.