Х. Адриан Смит, историк исскусства фокусов, коллекционер и обладатель крупнейшей частной библиотеки по фокусам в мире, однажды сказал, что литература по магии, подобно Галлии, разделилась на две части — книги опубликованные до «Современной Магии» и опубликованные после.
Самые ранние книги по фокусам в Англии (первой была книга Реджиналда Скота «Разоблачение Колдовства» 1584 года) были написаны для того, чтобы убедить читателей в несуществовании ведьм и всего связанного с так называемыми сверхестественными силами, и объяснения как эти предполагаемые сверхестественное номера были выполнены. Последующие книги описывали выступления современных фокусников и объясняли (с различной степенью точности) как их номера выполнялись, без каких либо полезных инструкций как читатель мог повторить эти эффекты сам. «Современная Магия» была первым реальным учебником по фокусам в Англии и лишь второй подобной книгой на всех языках (первой была книга Робер-Удена «Секреты Престидижитации и Магии», опубликованная во Франции в 1868 году и позже переведённая на английский никем иным как Профессором Хоффманном).
Для того чтобы полностью понять влияние «Современной Магии» на прогресс иллюзионного искусства последнего столетия, мы должны лишь рассмотреть фундаментальные изменения в выступлениях фокусников произошедшие со времени публикации книги. В последней четверти XIX столетия фокусы были всё ещё слишком интимной формой развлечения, выполняясь исконно в гостинных и небольших залах. Но, хотя аудитория была всё ещё небольшой, фокусы только что подверглись главной революции в стиле представления. Поддаваясь влиянию великого французского иллюзиониста Жана Эжена Робер-Удена, фокусники сбросили заострённые колпаки, сняли длинные халаты и отбросили кабалистические символы прошлого, появляясь на сцене в виде обычных смертных, которые могут творить чудеса. Хоффманн был хорошо осведомлён об этом важном изменении и с одобрением его комментировал. Он писал: «Отцом современной магии, как мы все хорошо знаем, был несомненно Робер-Уден. До него искусство иллюзионизма практически стояло на месте в течении нескольких поколений. Он носил вечернее платье из обычной жизни, очевидно пренебрегая всеми преимуществами которые его непосредственные предшественники получали от плавных драпировок, и всё же, в этих сложных условиях, он производил значительно более удивительные эффекты, что любой, кто пытался ранее». Хоффманн подтверждал это обучая делать самые удивительные фокусы с предметами выглядящими совершенно обыденными. Он верил, что «самым успешным фокусником дубущего будет тот, кто разумно скомбинирует аппаратные и безаппаратные трюки: причём аппаратура быдет иметь простой и обыденный вид, не пригодный по общему признанию для целей исполнения фокусов».
While it is obvious that Hoffmann understood this important truism, many of the magicians who were deeply influenced by his writings over the course of the next century forgot it, and the effectiveness of their performances suffered because of it. «The evening dress of ordinary life» in Victorian times was quite different from that of today, yet the image of the magician in Inverness cape, top hat and tails still persists. Also, the apparatus «of a simple and homely kind» that would seem quite natural in a Victorian drawing room is, in the magic performance of today, so unusual that it gives the appearance of having been created only to produce the desired effect. Yet today there are still many magicians who present their effects on single-leg tables with black velvet drapes, often with gold fringe, a common piece of furniture in Professor Hoffmann's time but totally unknown-outside of magic performances-in the contemporary world. One can imagine that if the good professor were alive today to see the continued use of the props described in his great textbook, he would thoroughly disapprove.
But, granted that Hoffmann's views on performance style (and, unfortunately, his Victorian trappings) have been basic to the magic of the last century, many other things have changed since he wrote his book. In the introduction to Modern Magic, for instance, he describes «two or three appliances, which are of such constant use that they may be said to form the primary stock-in-trade of every conjuror. These are-a short wand, a specially adapted table, and certain secret pockets in the magician's dress.» He comments that these «are so indispensable that we could hardly complete the description of half-a-dozen tricks of any pretension without a reference to one or other of them.» It is interesting that a century later all three of these primary «appliances» have become virtually obsolete, and are used today only in the most specialized circumstances. The wand is still used in the presentation of some classic effects such as the Cups and Balls, but the tailcoat with its secret pochettes and profondes, and the draped table with its servante and elaborate traps, have been (or should be) relegated to magic history. It is significant that today's most successful young magician, Doug Henning, who has starred on Broadway and in a number of highly successful television specials, has made as radical a change in the image of the traditional magician in our time as Robert-Houdin did in his. Instead of the traditional tails and top hat, Henning has adopted a theatrical version of the dress of contemporary youth, wearing blue-jeans style pants and skin-tight T-shirts which offer convincing evidence that nothing he uses in his amazing effects could be concealed on his body. Thus, when Henning magically produces a huge owl or a large bowl of fire (both effects from his repertoire), the amazed response of his audiences is much greater than if he were attired in a tailcoat or a voluminous opera cape.
Some effects, using props common in the Victorian era but uncommon today, have also disappeared. It is interesting that the most common image of a magician is a man pulling a live rabbit from a top hat, yet this feat, almost never seen today, was effective in the nineteenth century because the magician could borrow a top hat from any gentleman in his audience. The fact that it was a borrowed hat made the production of rabbits (and often other unlikely articles such as cannonballs, bird cages and lighted Chinese lanterns) a truly amazing effect. Today few people, save magicians, carry top hats, and a contemporary audience might suspect (perhaps correctly) that the hat containing the rabbit is just another trick magician's prop.
There is another popular area of magic that has been almost completely transformed, in terms of technique, since Professor Hoffmann's time. This is the vast field of card magic. Unquestionably, more technical literature has been published on card magic in the last century than on any other area of magic; the number of books, large and small and in all languages, runs into the thousands.
In Hoffmann's day, the «Pass» (Sauter la coupe), following the dictates of the great Robert-Houdin, was the most important sleight in all card magic. Today, partly because it is extremely difficult to do undetected and because so many effective substitutes (totally unknown in Hoffmann's time) have been invented, it no longer occupies such a central position in card technique. This is not to say that this classic sleight, in the hands of such contemporary card experts as Charles Miller or Derek Dingle, is not powerfully deceptive, but simply that it is no longer the backbone of card conjuring. Through the writings and inventive talents of such men as S. W. Erdnase (whose classic Expert at the Card Table was published in 1902), and such contemporary card geniuses as Dai Vernon and Ed Marlo, the entire technique of card magic has changed, with literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new sleights and subterfuges invented over the past hundred years. While the techniques have changed radically, however, many of the classic effects remain the same and are still in use today; a great number date back to before the time of Hoffmann to the great Viennese card magician Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806-1875), and perhaps even before.
An interesting inclusion in Hoffmann's chapter on card sleights is instructions on how to throw a card. While not strictly a magic effect, the throwing of playing cards later became a feature in the performances of many major stage magicians like Howard Thurston and Maurice Raymond, who hurled cards from the theater stage to the highest reaches of the top balcony. One of America's cleverest card magicians of today, Ricky Jay, has revived the old feat of card throwing and includes it as a regular feature in his act, and has even written a book on the subject.
Since the publication of Modern Magic, two specialized types of magician that were minor figures on the magic stage a century ago have moved into the limelight. One is the illusionist, the magician who specializes in spectacular feats using people and large animals. This type of magician rose to prominence in the era of vaudeville and the music halls, when magicians were required to perform in large theaters where more intimate magic would not be effective. Such master magicians as Herrmann, Kellar, Thurston and Blackstone in America, Maskelyne and Devant in England, and Carter, Raymond, Nicola and Levante touring the globe brought large-scale stage illusions to enthralled theater audiences. The tradition of the grand illusionist remains with us today in the spectacular performances of Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone, Jr., and Siegfried and Roy. The other new breed of magician to rise to prominence has been the mentalist, or mindreader, with such names as Alexander, Annemann and Dunninger prominent.
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Самые ранние книги по фокусам в Англии (первой была книга Реджиналда Скота «Разоблачение Колдовства» 1584 года) были написаны для того, чтобы убедить читателей в несуществовании ведьм и всего связанного с так называемыми сверхестественными силами, и объяснения как эти предполагаемые сверхестественное номера были выполнены. Последующие книги описывали выступления современных фокусников и объясняли (с различной степенью точности) как их номера выполнялись, без каких либо полезных инструкций как читатель мог повторить эти эффекты сам. «Современная Магия» была первым реальным учебником по фокусам в Англии и лишь второй подобной книгой на всех языках (первой была книга Робер-Удена «Секреты Престидижитации и Магии», опубликованная во Франции в 1868 году и позже переведённая на английский никем иным как Профессором Хоффманном).
Для того чтобы полностью понять влияние «Современной Магии» на прогресс иллюзионного искусства последнего столетия, мы должны лишь рассмотреть фундаментальные изменения в выступлениях фокусников произошедшие со времени публикации книги. В последней четверти XIX столетия фокусы были всё ещё слишком интимной формой развлечения, выполняясь исконно в гостинных и небольших залах. Но, хотя аудитория была всё ещё небольшой, фокусы только что подверглись главной революции в стиле представления. Поддаваясь влиянию великого французского иллюзиониста Жана Эжена Робер-Удена, фокусники сбросили заострённые колпаки, сняли длинные халаты и отбросили кабалистические символы прошлого, появляясь на сцене в виде обычных смертных, которые могут творить чудеса. Хоффманн был хорошо осведомлён об этом важном изменении и с одобрением его комментировал. Он писал: «Отцом современной магии, как мы все хорошо знаем, был несомненно Робер-Уден. До него искусство иллюзионизма практически стояло на месте в течении нескольких поколений. Он носил вечернее платье из обычной жизни, очевидно пренебрегая всеми преимуществами которые его непосредственные предшественники получали от плавных драпировок, и всё же, в этих сложных условиях, он производил значительно более удивительные эффекты, что любой, кто пытался ранее». Хоффманн подтверждал это обучая делать самые удивительные фокусы с предметами выглядящими совершенно обыденными. Он верил, что «самым успешным фокусником дубущего будет тот, кто разумно скомбинирует аппаратные и безаппаратные трюки: причём аппаратура быдет иметь простой и обыденный вид, не пригодный по общему признанию для целей исполнения фокусов».
While it is obvious that Hoffmann understood this important truism, many of the magicians who were deeply influenced by his writings over the course of the next century forgot it, and the effectiveness of their performances suffered because of it. «The evening dress of ordinary life» in Victorian times was quite different from that of today, yet the image of the magician in Inverness cape, top hat and tails still persists. Also, the apparatus «of a simple and homely kind» that would seem quite natural in a Victorian drawing room is, in the magic performance of today, so unusual that it gives the appearance of having been created only to produce the desired effect. Yet today there are still many magicians who present their effects on single-leg tables with black velvet drapes, often with gold fringe, a common piece of furniture in Professor Hoffmann's time but totally unknown-outside of magic performances-in the contemporary world. One can imagine that if the good professor were alive today to see the continued use of the props described in his great textbook, he would thoroughly disapprove.
But, granted that Hoffmann's views on performance style (and, unfortunately, his Victorian trappings) have been basic to the magic of the last century, many other things have changed since he wrote his book. In the introduction to Modern Magic, for instance, he describes «two or three appliances, which are of such constant use that they may be said to form the primary stock-in-trade of every conjuror. These are-a short wand, a specially adapted table, and certain secret pockets in the magician's dress.» He comments that these «are so indispensable that we could hardly complete the description of half-a-dozen tricks of any pretension without a reference to one or other of them.» It is interesting that a century later all three of these primary «appliances» have become virtually obsolete, and are used today only in the most specialized circumstances. The wand is still used in the presentation of some classic effects such as the Cups and Balls, but the tailcoat with its secret pochettes and profondes, and the draped table with its servante and elaborate traps, have been (or should be) relegated to magic history. It is significant that today's most successful young magician, Doug Henning, who has starred on Broadway and in a number of highly successful television specials, has made as radical a change in the image of the traditional magician in our time as Robert-Houdin did in his. Instead of the traditional tails and top hat, Henning has adopted a theatrical version of the dress of contemporary youth, wearing blue-jeans style pants and skin-tight T-shirts which offer convincing evidence that nothing he uses in his amazing effects could be concealed on his body. Thus, when Henning magically produces a huge owl or a large bowl of fire (both effects from his repertoire), the amazed response of his audiences is much greater than if he were attired in a tailcoat or a voluminous opera cape.
Some effects, using props common in the Victorian era but uncommon today, have also disappeared. It is interesting that the most common image of a magician is a man pulling a live rabbit from a top hat, yet this feat, almost never seen today, was effective in the nineteenth century because the magician could borrow a top hat from any gentleman in his audience. The fact that it was a borrowed hat made the production of rabbits (and often other unlikely articles such as cannonballs, bird cages and lighted Chinese lanterns) a truly amazing effect. Today few people, save magicians, carry top hats, and a contemporary audience might suspect (perhaps correctly) that the hat containing the rabbit is just another trick magician's prop.
There is another popular area of magic that has been almost completely transformed, in terms of technique, since Professor Hoffmann's time. This is the vast field of card magic. Unquestionably, more technical literature has been published on card magic in the last century than on any other area of magic; the number of books, large and small and in all languages, runs into the thousands.
In Hoffmann's day, the «Pass» (Sauter la coupe), following the dictates of the great Robert-Houdin, was the most important sleight in all card magic. Today, partly because it is extremely difficult to do undetected and because so many effective substitutes (totally unknown in Hoffmann's time) have been invented, it no longer occupies such a central position in card technique. This is not to say that this classic sleight, in the hands of such contemporary card experts as Charles Miller or Derek Dingle, is not powerfully deceptive, but simply that it is no longer the backbone of card conjuring. Through the writings and inventive talents of such men as S. W. Erdnase (whose classic Expert at the Card Table was published in 1902), and such contemporary card geniuses as Dai Vernon and Ed Marlo, the entire technique of card magic has changed, with literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new sleights and subterfuges invented over the past hundred years. While the techniques have changed radically, however, many of the classic effects remain the same and are still in use today; a great number date back to before the time of Hoffmann to the great Viennese card magician Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806-1875), and perhaps even before.
An interesting inclusion in Hoffmann's chapter on card sleights is instructions on how to throw a card. While not strictly a magic effect, the throwing of playing cards later became a feature in the performances of many major stage magicians like Howard Thurston and Maurice Raymond, who hurled cards from the theater stage to the highest reaches of the top balcony. One of America's cleverest card magicians of today, Ricky Jay, has revived the old feat of card throwing and includes it as a regular feature in his act, and has even written a book on the subject.
Since the publication of Modern Magic, two specialized types of magician that were minor figures on the magic stage a century ago have moved into the limelight. One is the illusionist, the magician who specializes in spectacular feats using people and large animals. This type of magician rose to prominence in the era of vaudeville and the music halls, when magicians were required to perform in large theaters where more intimate magic would not be effective. Such master magicians as Herrmann, Kellar, Thurston and Blackstone in America, Maskelyne and Devant in England, and Carter, Raymond, Nicola and Levante touring the globe brought large-scale stage illusions to enthralled theater audiences. The tradition of the grand illusionist remains with us today in the spectacular performances of Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone, Jr., and Siegfried and Roy. The other new breed of magician to rise to prominence has been the mentalist, or mindreader, with such names as Alexander, Annemann and Dunninger prominent.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33