Magic in a Nutshell

What is magic?

Wikipedia defines magic as being a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural  feats using natural means. These feats are called magic tricks, effects, or illusions.

One who performs such illusions is called a magician or an illusionist.

A Brief History of Magic

The earliest forms of magic were evidently witchcraft and "religious" cult magic, performed  to frighten uneducated people, for religious or economical purposes.

The second form of magic came as scientific demonstrations, most notably by Jacob Philadelphia. Jacob was also a pioneer in phantasmagoria, a performance magic show with a focus on the appearance of ghostly figures.

Modern magic owes much to Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, who came after Philadelphia. Houdin was originally a clockmaker, specializing in the construction of mechanical automata which appeared to move and act as if they were alive. An example would be his famous mystery clock, a clock that works perfectly without its hands being apparently connected to any workings.

After that, stage magic came to mainstream prominence thanks to one of the most famous magicians to ever walk the earth and one of the greatest escapologists of all time Harry Houdini, adopting his last name from his idol Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin and adding an "i" at the end.  His fame came from his incredible lockpicking and escaping techniques as well as his incredible showmanship.

Appealing to the masses, the next step for magic was Television. Some of the most famous magicians of that era were David Copperfield, Lance Burton and Penn and Teller, who all enjoyed a great deal of success either on stage or on TV with their various magic specials.

The next generation of magicians were street magicians, most notably David Blaine and Criss Angel. Unlike stage magic, street magic focuses a lot on the audience's reaction, mainly having the audience watch the audience. Noted for the use of actors and  the occasional camera trick.

Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed

A turning point in magic was the TV special: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed, which originally began airing in 1997. Basically, a masked magician, appropriately named: The Masked Magician, performed world famous stage illusions, after which he revealed their secret. 

After the first special, all hell broke loose in the magic industry: Magicians were furious, in disbelief, they were all outraged! One of the funniest reactions was from non other than David Copperfield who politely asked the Masked Magician to kiss his ass.

In his defense, the Masked Magician's intentions were pure: he felt magic was given a backseat to music and movies, he wanted to rekindle that magical spark, to get kids interested in magic again. And I must say that from personal experience that worked as a charm! I personally remember buying my first magic kit after watching that show, and becoming somewhat of a "magic nerd" ever since.

Nonetheless, the show did have some negative effects, not so much on magic or the magic community themselves, but on the perception of magic: instead of looking at magic as an art, people started decomposing magic into its primitive form, not concentrating on the end results, but rather on the mechanisms and effects used to make the trick possible.

Finally I'll leave you with this quote from a professional magician:

"Magic is not a riddle, It is not a contest of intelligence, It's art. What most people are doing is going to a art gallery and saying "This isn't a landscape! it's merely paint applied with a brush!"  "

-Patrick