Is magic art? Should magic be considered an art form?
Greg's a young magician who has to write an essay for school on why magic should be considered an art form. He's being proactive and wants to get the opinion of other magicians as field research.
Do you agree that it is an art form? What arguments would you make?
Please share your thoughts at the bottom of this page.
Phil Hyslop:
What is magic? "Magic is the theatrical art of creating the illusion of impossibility in an entertaining way." Charles Reynolds
Sean Mccarthy:
I think magic isn't an art form, although it has the potential to be. In the same way that an easel and a paint brush aren't a painting. It requires an artist. Somebody with a passion for what they do and with a message to give. Magic can be an art, but only when the tricks come second to the people.
Ian Leic:
I got a copy of Ken Weber's book "Maximum Entertainment" the other day and in it he says that magic is an art as it falls under the umbrella of 'performing arts'. Like others here, I personally believe that magic has the potential to be an art but shouldn't be classed as that automatically. A block of clay needs a sculptor to create art rather than a mess. A keyboard needs a composer to create art rather than just a noise. Magic can be an art but whether it is or not is entirely reliant on the person performing it.
Jørund Werner:
Yes. I believe magic can be an art form. I went to an art school years ago, I'm not only magician, I also make comics, draw pictures and write short stories. In my experience the hard work I do when I make art has a lot in common with the work I do when I work on my magic, Yes it's an artform, if you put your soul and hard work in it. If It's original and interesting to watch, if your magic is something that does not loook like magic you have seen before, then I think you can call it art.
Chris Curley:
Magic is art. The cards are my canvas, my hands are the paint and my mind creates the master piece. Too say magic is not an art is not a wrong answer just a view on the subject. Magic that does not seem to be art was not performed properly.
Jonathan Nicholson:
Brilliant question. I would say that magic is an art but in the way that paint, brushes and canvas is not art until the creative element (artist) is introduced. Perhaps more akin to dance…
TRICKS are not artistic, but a magician has the ability to create art with them. Some card flourishers now call their card flourishes "juggling" but watching some of the videos (again part of the creative process) I would class that as art.
My partner says magic is not art. In her defence – she has seen me perform.
Tomás Ó Laoch:
Art is supposed to make you feel something you make people feel wonder and whimsy so yes i believe its an art form people look at a painting and wonder the emotion behind it so that's my argument behind my statement.
Sam Mcgurgan:
Well all art forms need to be perfected, magic also has to be perfected, therefore magic is an art.
Dominic Reyes:
Great posts on this topic! I would agree.. Magic is much like any other form of performance. The props and techniques are materials for the magician to create something. Perhaps the 'art' comes in the presentation and delivery of the magic?
Hey Guys
IS MAGIC ART
Hell yes, magic goes through many creative steps to either create an effect or a sting of effects for a production.
Any for of creation in terms of creating something that has performance in it is considered and art.
Magic comes in many different Genres and collaborates with many other forms of art music, dance, movement and even mime to create a psychological journey of the mind.
So their is no doubt that Magic is an art.
Hence the term
THE ART OF MAGIC
Looking forward to bringing insanity in magic to your lives.
Kind Regards
Russell Fox – Magician Insane.
Perhaps we should ask what art is before we consider whether magic falls into that definition.
I think most people would agree that, whatever end form it actually takes, art is something that elicits an emotional response in the viewer. Whatever that is, you don’t need to be told, you just feel it and you know instinctively that feeling is shared and intentional.
The artist uses some form of craftsmanship to elicit that response, whether that’s singing or painting or acting – but they have an instinct and practiced skill for how shaping whatever their raw materials are to make you notice what they notice and feel what they feel when you finally encounter that end result.
Magic can certainly do all of that. It can elicit an emotional response as a result of real intelligent craftsmanship. But it can also solely appeal to the intellectual part of our brains and in that instance it is no more art than a crossword puzzle or sudoku. As others have said the key ingredient to make anything art is the artist themselves and whatever intention they enter that creative process with.