Info-Authority: Magicians

Originally, a magician was an individual who demonstrated evidence of paranormal powers. However, modern magicians have become synonymous with illusionists—entertainers who put on shows of amazing acts that seem possible only through magical means. Although it is widely known that such tricks are performed in a variety of ingenious but mundane ways, stage magicians usually maintain the conceit that they are, in fact, performing some sort of supernatural display. This façade is an accepted part of the magician's act, and modern magic shows demonstrate nearly as much of this sort of tongue-in-cheek showmanship as they do astounding feats.

Modern Magicians

Throughout history, people have entertained one another with hand tricks and other similar diversions. With the advent of a more entertainment-oriented culture, around the late 19th century, practitioners of such arts began to refine their acts for the sake of profit. The father of modern illusionism is usually considered to be Harry Houdini, who became a world sensation in the 1900s with his displays of apparent mind reading and seemingly impossible escapes from chains and safes. With the rising popularity of radio and television, such public events became increasingly less attended, and magic shows ultimately fell out of fashion for much of the 20th century. However, in recent decades, in large part due to charismatic showmen such as Siegfried and Roy or Penn and Teller, illusionism has made a resurgence. Moreover, even at the ebb of their popularity, magicians have been a staple fixture of children's entertainment.

Types of Magicians

Modern magicians operate on a wide variety of scales:

Street entertainers perform simple tricks for tips
Professional magicians work parties and clubs for their livings
Celebrities such as David Copperfield have achieved world-renown for such feats as making the Statue of Liberty disappear and levitating over the Grand Canyon. Such shrewd magicians have transformed television, once the bane of magic, into an effective vehicle for displaying its wonders to the masses, using a live audience to ensure the viewer that no tricks are fabricated by means of camera trickery.

Feats of Illusion

Feats of illusion have been historically divided into seven categories:

Production, or causing an object to appear, as in the classic rabbit from a hat
Disappearance, in which the magician causes himself or an object to vanish
Transformation, or seemingly altering one object into the form of another
Restoration, or destroying an object, and then causing it to return intact
Teleportation, or moving an object or the magician himself to another location via inexplicable means)
Levitation, which gives the appearance of hovering over the floor
Penetration, or transferring one solid object through another

Such tricks are usually performed by using clever props, unusual skills such as lock picking and sleight of hand, or simple misdirection (as when a magician distracts the audience from his behavior through fast talking, hand gestures, or by means of an assistant).

Performing Magic

Very few tricks are actually new in the magic world. The secrets of most can be learned through books and videos. Professional magicians usually enforce a formal code against revealing each other's secrets or allowing non-magicians to learn the workings of a trick. However, not every magician has adhered to this code.

By Matthew Ingalls




	Magicians Originally, a magician was an individual who demonstrated evidence of paranormal powers. However, modern magicians have become synonymous with illusionists—entertainers who put on shows of amazing acts that seem possible only through magical means. Although it is widely known that such tricks are performed in a variety of ingenious but mundane ways, stage magicians usually maintain the conceit that they are, in fact, performing some sort of supernatural display. This façade is an accepted part of the magician's act, and modern magic shows demonstrate nearly as much of this sort of tongue-in-cheek showmanship as they do astounding feats. Modern Magicians Throughout history, people have entertained one another with hand tricks and other similar diversions. With the advent of a more entertainment-oriented culture, around the late 19th century, practitioners of such arts began to refine their acts for the sake of profit. The father of modern illusionism is usually considered to be Harry Houdini, who became a world sensation in the 1900s with his displays of apparent mind reading and seemingly impossible escapes from chains and safes. With the rising popularity of radio and television, such public events became increasingly less attended, and magic shows ultimately fell out of fashion for much of the 20th century. However, in recent decades, in large part due to charismatic showmen such as Siegfried and Roy or Penn and Teller, illusionism has made a resurgence. Moreover, even at the ebb of their popularity, magicians have been a staple fixture of children's entertainment. Types of Magicians Modern magicians operate on a wide variety of scales: Street entertainers perform simple tricks for tips Professional magicians work parties and clubs for their livings Celebrities such as David Copperfield have achieved world-renown for such feats as making the Statue of Liberty disappear and levitating over the Grand Canyon. Such shrewd magicians have transformed television, once the bane of magic, into an effective vehicle for displaying its wonders to the masses, using a live audience to ensure the viewer that no tricks are fabricated by means of camera trickery. Feats of Illusion Feats of illusion have been historically divided into seven categories: Production, or causing an object to appear, as in the classic rabbit from a hat Disappearance, in which the magician causes himself or an object to vanish Transformation, or seemingly altering one object into the form of another Restoration, or destroying an object, and then causing it to return intact Teleportation, or moving an object or the magician himself to another location via inexplicable means) Levitation, which gives the appearance of hovering over the floor Penetration, or transferring one solid object through another Such tricks are usually performed by using clever props, unusual skills such as lock picking and sleight of hand, or simple misdirection (as when a magician distracts the audience from his behavior through fast talking, hand gestures, or by means of an assistant). Performing Magic Very few tricks are actually new in the magic world. The secrets of most can be learned through books and videos. Professional magicians usually enforce a formal code against revealing each other's secrets or allowing non-magicians to learn the workings of a trick. However, not every magician has adhered to this code. By Matthew Ingalls Related Links: Wikipedia - Magic and Illusion Wikipedia article on magic and illusionism.