New Yorker article

Stir · 2nd April 2008, 08:39 AM

From the 3/21 Swift:

"Our good friend Jamy Ian Swiss – who TAM-goers will recall with great delight – informs us:

The Monday, March 17th issue of The New Yorker includes a lengthy in-depth piece exploring the contemporary art and culture of magic, entitled "The Real Work," and written by Adam Gopnik, an award-winning journalist and veteran New Yorker writer who has spent more than a year researching this subject. In the article he provides insight into the work of those who approach magic not merely as a novelty entertainment, but as a legitimate art built on ideas as well as aesthetics. This is likely one of most substantive items ever to appear in mainstream journalism about magic as an art. And I am a definite presence in the piece, having partly served as Adam's guide through the magic community. "

I haven't been able to find a copy of that issue. Does anyone have it (or an url) that they can post?

Cain · 3rd April 2008, 04:39 PM

This came in a magic forum. I do not have the article, or know where you can get it online, but here's what I posted to the other discussion."

Quote:

I read the article at the library some time earlier this week. It was OK.

The gossipy stuff from what I remember. David Blaine is constantly bedding women with names like "Nadia." Daniel Garcia, described as a "master magician," or a superstar, or something along those lines, hangs out at Blaine's two floor pad. David Copperfield cites a resume of accomplishments (Emmy awards etc) to strangers, somehow seeking validation. Jamy Ian Swiss is an essayist, magic "intellectual" and all-around sanctimonious [insert your favorite noun here]; magic helped him as a kid with a speech impediment at the age of 12, but he did not actively begin to pursue it professionally until the age of 29, and his hands felt like "stumps." A little later he pushed his way into the Magic Castle, met Vernon. Tamariz gets a mention in passing, and I wonder if Blaine is teaching a student "Neither Blind Nor Stupid."

It also discusses "too perfect theory," craft, what distinguishes magic from other arts, and so on. One of the main themes centers on the "soul" of magic, Vernon vs. Houdini, different outlooks between Swiss and Blaine.

The author probably had his formative close-up experiences with Swiss, and so he revels in seeing -- or not seeing -- thirteen different variants of the pass. Most readers will probably infer Swiss has more prominence in the magic community than he really does. Or maybe I'm totally mistaken in my reading of the article, or mistaken in how most magicians perceive Swiss. I'm guessing that if the author had encountered Jon Racherbaumer, Whit Haydn, Darwin Ortiz, Eugene Burger, Michael Close etc., then the article would have been different.

2nd April 2008, 08:39 AM	#1
Stir Anarchist In The System Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Plaza of Dark Delights, Lankhmar Posts: 171	New Yorker article From the 3/21 Swift: "Our good friend Jamy Ian Swiss – who TAM-goers will recall with great delight – informs us: The Monday, March 17th issue of The New Yorker includes a lengthy in-depth piece exploring the contemporary art and culture of magic, entitled "The Real Work," and written by Adam Gopnik, an award-winning journalist and veteran New Yorker writer who has spent more than a year researching this subject. In the article he provides insight into the work of those who approach magic not merely as a novelty entertainment, but as a legitimate art built on ideas as well as aesthetics. This is likely one of most substantive items ever to appear in mainstream journalism about magic as an art. And I am a definite presence in the piece, having partly served as Adam's guide through the magic community. " I haven't been able to find a copy of that issue. Does anyone have it (or an url) that they can post?
	__________________ For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. -H.L.Mencken ... if I have been wrong in my agnosticism, when I die I'll walk up to God in a manly way and say, Sir, I made an honest mistake -H.L.Mencken

3rd April 2008, 04:39 PM	#2
Cain Contrarian Join Date: May 2002 Location: S. California Posts: 3,958	This came in a magic forum. I do not have the article, or know where you can get it online, but here's what I posted to the other discussion." Quote: I read the article at the library some time earlier this week. It was OK. The gossipy stuff from what I remember. David Blaine is constantly bedding women with names like "Nadia." Daniel Garcia, described as a "master magician," or a superstar, or something along those lines, hangs out at Blaine's two floor pad. David Copperfield cites a resume of accomplishments (Emmy awards etc) to strangers, somehow seeking validation. Jamy Ian Swiss is an essayist, magic "intellectual" and all-around sanctimonious [insert your favorite noun here]; magic helped him as a kid with a speech impediment at the age of 12, but he did not actively begin to pursue it professionally until the age of 29, and his hands felt like "stumps." A little later he pushed his way into the Magic Castle, met Vernon. Tamariz gets a mention in passing, and I wonder if Blaine is teaching a student "Neither Blind Nor Stupid." It also discusses "too perfect theory," craft, what distinguishes magic from other arts, and so on. One of the main themes centers on the "soul" of magic, Vernon vs. Houdini, different outlooks between Swiss and Blaine. The author probably had his formative close-up experiences with Swiss, and so he revels in seeing -- or not seeing -- thirteen different variants of the pass. Most readers will probably infer Swiss has more prominence in the magic community than he really does. Or maybe I'm totally mistaken in my reading of the article, or mistaken in how most magicians perceive Swiss. I'm guessing that if the author had encountered Jon Racherbaumer, Whit Haydn, Darwin Ortiz, Eugene Burger, Michael Close etc., then the article would have been different.
	__________________ Well, well, well. If it ain't the serious, elusive Leroy Green. I've been waitin' a long time for this, Leroy. I am sick of hearin' these ***** Superman stories about the "wassah" legendary Bruce Leroy catchin' bullets with his teeth. Catches bullets with his teeth?! ***** pleeze.