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.
Carlos
Fernández Fernández
Eli.
ResponderEliminarThanks for allowing me to write here and also for having posted my article.
Carlos