What does this mean? Did magic go anywhere for it to be needed to be brought back? The answer is that magic hasn't actually gone anywhere for quite some time. Looking at all of the other arts in general, but specifically performance arts, over the past century, and we see there have been many noticeable changes in the evolution of how the message of the artist is expressed, as well as the actual message itself. And yet magic as an art has largely overlooked these evolutions and is stuck in a time warp where magicians receive little respect for their work.
And rightfully so. Magicians who are serious about their art are constantly complaining of the lack of appreciation by the general public. Many of these magician's wonder if this same public would show a lack of respect for musicians, or theatrical actors; and while these magicians are correct in asking these rhetorical questions they must also be honest with themselves: music and theatre have undergone massive changes over the past century, what kind of changes has magic undergone? Sure, magic can now be seen on TV and the Internet. Sure, many magician's now wear t-shirt and jeans in their performances to appear "hip". Sure, some even incorporate pop culture music in their performances. But the magic we see on the internet, the magicians who wear "hip" clothes and perform to popular music, are all performing the same magic that has been performed by magicians for decades and decades. There is something to be said about performing these "classic" effects, but why are they always performed exactly the same way night after night by countless magicians? That's the equivalent to every music group performing all cover songs instead of creating their own music.
Now I'm not implying that cover bands are not artistic, but for every cover band out there, how many more groups create their own music, delivering their own message? In this analogy it becomes clear that magic has not come very far in the past century due to the lack of creativity among the magic fraternity. Who am I to claim to bring Magic back? Back from the time warp that it has been stuck in for far too long? In many ways I'm a nobody... just another magician; an artist that is generalized as a "dime a dozen" by the general public. But my eyes have been opened; and so has the eyes of many other magicians. Yet being aware of the problem does not mean an overnight fix. We have been aware of this problem for quite some time now. Many magicians acknowledge it, many more refuse to believe that anything has to be done about it, and still the majority are naïve to the problem. Does a band play a song just for the sake of playing a song? Does a theatrical group perform a production just because? Does a painter stroke paint on canvas for no reason at all? Or is there a greater purpose to it all? Is there some message that the artist is trying to get across to the public?
I believe there is a greater meaning behind all art. What is the greater meaning behind magic? For far too long the meaning has been for the magician to say, "Look what I can do!" In the words of Ghandi, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." I believe that there is more to magic than needless vanity. I'm making a conscious effort right now to live as an example as to what magic can be. I'm bringing magic back.
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