Great magic gives its spectators the experience of dreaming even though they’re awake. Rêveurs Définitifs, a “magie nouvelle” show playing in Montreal until July 30, achieves this. The show is a surrealistic experience that both magicians and the general public should catch before it leaves town. Cie 14:20, directed by Raphaël Navarro and Clément Debailleul, is a […]
Thibaut Rioult writes about the fragility of appearances in this article. Merci, Thibault. Quelle belle phrase:
This American Life has been my favorite radio show for a long time. Their latest episode is on magic. I think this is the universe’s way of wishing me an extra special 4th of July:
Aura is phenomenal. This is a must-see, immersive light and sound show at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. The venue is an already-exquisite, 19th-century church. The spectacle of state-of-the art projection mapping created by The Moment Factory to animate the basilica’s interior propels its spectators into a special state of ecstasy. The show is a fascinating example of […]
So many projects happened so quickly this winter that I haven’t had time to properly blog about them. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be catching up by posting articles with the tag #ThrowbackThursday to share some special moments. What is enchantment? According to the Oxford English Dictionary it’s “the action or process of enchanting, … of employing […]
I’d been waiting for ten years to see a real magic lantern performance. Last night, thanks to the organizers of Montreal’s Cinema in the Eye of the Collector conference, I got my wish. Here is Deborah Borton with the British, double-projecting magic lantern from the 1890s that they used to entertain us for 90-minutes: The two lenses […]
I’ve learned and continue to learn from Dr. Edwin Dawes. Today in the McCord Museum, he gave an inspiring talk on the three Cs of magic history: Collect, Collate and Communicate. Also, cite and share your source information widely. I was honoured to have my name mentioned among others who have written doctoral dissertations on conjuring: […]
This is a call for papers for special issue 16.3 (August 2018) of Early Popular Visual Culture that I’ll be editing with Matthew Solomon (University of Michigan). Please circulate it widely: The Golden Age of Stage Conjuring, 1880-1930 The Golden Age of Stage Conjuring (1880-1930) in North America and Western Europe encompasses a period of […]
It’s strange, but there are actually people out there who collect dissertations on magic. I’m excited to present a talk tomorrow afternoon called “Doctoring Magic” for the attendees of the 44th annual Magic Collectors Weekend (MCW). As you can see above, I’ll have 52 signed and numbered copies for purchase by those who want them […]