[Dean's World] Dean: Does Understanding The Magic Ruin The Magic? Or Does It Make You Love The Magic More?

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Posted by Dean:
Does Understanding The Magic Ruin The Magic? Or Does It Make You Love The Magic More?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1165796529.shtml


   Dean's World contributor Ron Coleman recently posted this beautiful
   piece of magic his dad sent him (thanks Ron's Dad!), which I re-post
   here:

   [EMBED]

   [1]jerome murat
   Uploaded by [2]segalier

   That performance was by Jerome Murat, clearly without any camera or
   computer trickery. Murat's home page is [3]right here.

   Murat's artistry--to me--is in how seamlessly he has melded multiple
   crafts, plus his simple grace of execution. He combines mime,
   puppeteering, stage magic, and music. I'm blown away by the fact that
   the most high-tech thing Murat uses is a frakkin' [4]black light.

   I'm an analytical person by nature, so I can explain how Murat
   accomplished most of that performance. I leave open the possibility
   that he did something that would surprise me, but I've been involved
   in stage productions, and I love stage magic, and so I'm pretty sure I
   know how he did most of that.

   So the natural challenge comes: "Oh yeah?? If you're so smart Dean,
   could you do that?"

   Sure. Give me 6 months to work on it, to the exclusion of all else,
   and I could duplicate most of Murat's performance. But at the end of 6
   months, what would I have? A pale imitation of Murat, at best. My
   meager, derivative duplication would not be as beautiful, nor as
   poetic, nor as graceful, and certainly not as original.

   Yet I would have managed to duplicate all his stage tricks! Oh gosh, I
   would be so proud! After months of effort, I could approximately ape
   his achievement! My great pride would be in saying, "Hey, I parroted
   Murat!"

   It's like watching a beautiful dancer, or a beautiful figure skater.
   Sure, I basically know how they do it. Could I do it? Probably not as
   well, but on the strict mechanics I know I could ape it. Shoot, I
   could ape everything Michael Jordan ever did on a basketball court,
   and I could ape all of Tiger Woods's golf course moves.

   This [5]Chris Bliss video that we featured here on Dean's World some
   time ago comes to mind:

   [EMBED]

   That's a beautiful performance. Yet if you look at it carefully on a
   technical level, there's nothing amazing there. I've learnt a bit
   about how to juggle, so I "get" what he's doing. It's not particularly
   complicated, if you're a good juggler. Indeed, at least one
   world-class juggling champion, [6]Jason Garfield, decided to mock
   Bliss's routine:

   [EMBED]

   Jason Garfield is obviously a better juggler. He also uses 5 balls not
   3. He's faster and more adept. He's won world championship
   competitions in juggling, and deservedly so.

   Me? I can juggle a little. I am not good at it, but I know a bit since
   I learned to juggle 10 years ago with some beanbags. I've forgotten
   how, but give me a few weeks and I can pick it up again.

   But you tell me: who's the better juggler, and who's the better
   artist?

   I seem to be among that minority of humans who want to know how stage
   magicians do what they do, but do not think that technical skill is
   the be-all and end-all of a great performance.

   Some people tell me they don't want to know how the stage magicians
   accomplish their tricks. I respect that. But me? I want to understand
   their magic. When I figure out how they do their magic, I appreciate
   it all the more. And this makes me realize that the truth of a great
   performance is not about skill, but whether you can entrance and
   enthrall your audience.

   Take this beautiful performance for example:

   [EMBED]

   I respect those who tell me they don't want to know how it was done.
   Me? I understand how they did most of those tricks. If you tell me
   something I didn't know about how they did that, I'll probably
   appreciate it even more. It's an art, not a science. Show me a woman
   who can change her clothes even faster, and I'll probably yawn. "Yeah,
   so what? Can you entertain me while you do it?"

   I think that those who know how the tricks are done should stop
   feeling intellectually superior. At most all you've done is figure out
   some technical details. That doesn't make you a superior person, it
   means you've discovered--and learned to appreciate--one aspect of the
   stagemaster's craft.

   It's easy enough to say, "oh yeah, if I knew all the secrets I could
   do that." It's an order of magnitude harder to actually get out there
   in front of an audience and do it.

   Special note to Arnold Harris: please install the Flash player on your
   machine and spend $15 to buy some cheap speakers so you can take part
   in these discussions, you crusty old bastard you.

References

   1. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xf9oo_jerome-murat
   2. http://www.dailymotion.com/segalier
   3. http://www.borproductions.com/jerome_murat.htm
   4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_light
   5. http://www.chrisbliss.com/
   6. http://jasongarfield.com/