David Blaine: Magister Veneficus

My path to magic began recently, fairly late in life when compared to some of the most noted magicians known around the world.

Today I would like to write about my role model in magic: David Blaine.

David Blaine began practicing magic at a very young age. At 5 years old, his mother gave him his first deck of cards, which her mother had given her. Then, when he was a little older, a librarian working at in his hometown of Brooklyn provided him with a book of self-working magic tricks. This deck of cards, book, as well as exposure to magicians performing, changed his life forever.

In 1997, Blaine aired his first television special, called Street Magic. In this special, he introduced a revolutionary approach to televised magic. Previously, camera angles and emphasis would be primarily on the magician, allowing spectators the "front row seat" feeling. But Blaine focused his attention on the reaction of the people on the street, the wide eyes, the caught breath, the speechlessness. This approach gave a new credence to the reality of the reactions to well-performed magic.

Another aspect of Blaine's repertoire is acts of extreme endurance. Some of his most famous feats include being sealed inside a glass coffin underneath a 3-ton container of water for seven days (Buried Alive), being submerged in a water-filled sphere for an entire week (Drowned Alive), and standing on a pillar 22 feet high, wearing a conductive suit while being electrified by seven tesla coils with at least one million volts constantly for 72 hours (Electrified: One Million Volts Always On). He has set and broken a number of world records.

Blaine is my role model in magic for a number of reasons. His approach to magic is very simple. He doesn't try to frighten, he tries to enlighten. After becoming familiar with a number of card magic tricks and object manipulation techniques, I've noticed that the basis for most of his tricks is really quite simple. This simplicity engenders a sense of possible impossibility. No flashes, no bells and whistles, just plain and simple miracles happening right in front of your eyes.

“I'd like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.”' Blaine is quoted to say. He is always talking about how magic is meant to bring out the good in people, to awaken the child-like fascination with the wonders of the world.

"In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds."
-David Blaine

Watch Carefully...

There is a reason we are drawn to the mysterious.

We crave to know that there is more to life than what we can see. Or hear. Or taste, smell, or touch.

We are constantly bombarded by what our senses can perceive. We want to be distracted. But more than that, we want to be shown that the rules that govern our lives and dictate "reality" can be bent, sometimes even broken. We want to believe that we can smile and defy the laws that bind us to the ground, to the stark and rough texture that surrounds us.

My purpose here is not to offer an escape. But rather, to deepen our appreciation for the greatness and inexplicable complexity that lies behind the art of illusion.

So, watch every move very carefully, and don't always trust your eyes.