Alternative Date for Progress Test

If you really can't make it on 13/2, the only other possibility is for you to come on Saturday 14 Feb at 1000. If you need to do this please let me know as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT DATES

30/1 - NO CLASS

6/1 - NO CLASS

13/2 - PROGRESS TEST

If you cannot come to class on 13/2 you need to tell me as soon as possible.

Writing Homework

In class last Friday I asked you to complete an ARTICLE with the title or on the theme of (if you can think of a better headline, feel free to use it):

The Importance of Music to/for/in ........ (you should complete this according to your own ideas).

Don't forget to a) begin with COLOUR. That is, something to attract the reader's attention and arouse their interest. Good techniques here are to begin with general observations or first person descriptions of an event.

b) PERSONALISE. The kind of articles you are asked to write at this level are opinion articles rather than news articles. Your beliefs, tastes, experiences and so on can and should be expressed.

Try to write approximately 300 words.

If you can post it here, that would be great. Otherwise send it to me at driscoll.eli@gmail.com or print it and bring it to class.

MAGIC WORKS SOMEHOW: NATURAL AND SUPERNATURAL EXPLANATIONS by Carlos Fernandez

There is not only an explanation about what magic is or how magic works. In this article, I am giving my point of view about this art according to my experience as an amateur magician for 18 years.

First of all; magic, illusionism or prestidigitation is an art which can be classified in several types according to the place where it is performed: stage magic, parlour magic, close up, table magic, street magic, etc. Or the kind of effect to be achieved: mentalism, manipulation, vanishing, teleportation, restoration, escapism, transformation, levitation, penetration, etc.      

Depending on the circumstances: number of people, distance from the audience and so on, the performer will use different techniques to obtain the magical effect.

Secondly, magic occurs in people’s minds. This is possible not due to the use of a special deck of cards, a tricked box or the fact of acting far from them but because the artist knows how to control their brains. Apparently, this ‘device’ is always in control of their owners but really, it is not. Hence, magic is possible when the artist is able to guide those brains in a way that the magical illusion is produced.

To create this, the magician manipulates those brains with several techniques aimed to direct the attention, the perception.  In my case, I am specialised in card magic and use different methods to:

-build a memory print during the audience’s gaze.                                                                                                                -to create false memories or clues to condition brains for the following effect.                                           -to deceive the perception system                                                                                                             -to misdirect the attention without people’s awareness.                                                            

 Other artists control the lighting and furnishing of the performance space, talk at a slower or faster rate, whisper to produce mystery…

All this is possible due to our brain’s configuration and their mechanisms to adapt to the day life situations. The brain correctly works according to previous and logical experiences but in magic, artists ‘corrupt’ those mechanisms to achieve the magical illusion. (The blind spots, the figure and the background, the whole and the parts are manipulated to create the magical sensations).  If I or any person is able to cheat the attendees’ brains and to weave a magical temporary tissue, the result will be a good effect.

But why people are interested in magic?

Some of the most common fears in humans are the fears of knowing we are limited, the fears of death. Those could be some of the plausible reasons why people invented magic and religion. Those fears are always with us and for that reason a person who is victorious in this fight will be seen as a hero, a master who controls life and death, sorrow and joy.   

                        

In a magic show those symbolic issues are always present so, when the performer deals with them, the result is always a victory against limits, against death.

Moreover, although nowadays, a magic show is normally seen such as an entertainment, for some people this is a ‘real’ demonstration of a superpower.  Thus, the mentalists, the wizards, the magicians have a gift so, they can make miracles.                                                              

During my experience as a performer, several people have come to me believing I could do something to relieve their pains, problems and so on.  They didn’t want to accept I didn’t have any special power and they were disappointed. This is the reason why lots of healers and conmen succeed giving hope in exchange for money, sex and / or submission. (Although I have to recognise some people help others because they know how to persuade them, they have accurate knowledge or they have several skills to deal with those people and their problems).

To sum up, getting to grips with the art of magic takes years because it is not just a simple sleight of hands trick. It is an art to create the sensation of wonder and for that, the magician takes advantage of our beliefs, our fears and the ‘malfunction’ of our perceptive systems to transport us through the looking glass, beyond the ordinary experience. 

Bibliography and references:

Miguel Puga.  “Magia. Historias de la historia de la magia.” Editorial Comares, 2005.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(illusion)

                                                                                                         Carlos Fernández Fernández