Page 77 - 2008 DT 12 issues

I n T h i s I s s u e

Featured Article
Mystery or Illusion?..........................1
Special
Quilter’s Primer?..............................2

Departments
News & Notes..................................2
October 2008 Programs & Hikes...........................4
Desk Schedule................................6
Bulletin Board................................8

Mystery or Illusion? ent artefacts, including 15,000 books

. . . Magic and Mystery in Las Vegas from all over the world and dating back
centuries. It contains, for example, the
book “Hocus Pocus,” which we met in
by Dan Wray what about making an airplane or the the previous article.
Statue of Liberty disappear? What Copperfield founded Project Mag-
about floating across the Grand Can- ic in 1982, a rehabilitation program to
t seems that quite a few magicians assist patients with impaired move-
start to perform for money at an yon or walking through the Great Wall ment. The purpose of the program is
Iearly age. David Seth Kotkin, born of China? David Copperfield has done to improve motor skills through the
all of these.
September 16, 1956 in Metuchen, NJ, use of slight-of-hand techniques. The
was no exception. He is better known program is accredited by the American
to most people as David Copperfield. Occupational Therapy Association and
Not only was David performing at an is in use in over 1100 hospitals in 30
early age, but by the age of 16 was countries.
actually teaching magic at New York Every magician brings his own
University. His career really took off touch to his magic and a couple who
when he took the lead in the Chicago certainly have done that are Penn and
musical, The Magic Man, and as a Teller. How on earth do a juggler and
result he made his first television ap- a Latin teacher join forces? What
pearance on “The Magic of ABC.” have they in common? Perhaps it is
This was followed by his own series, a desire to make us think, to unsettle
“The Magic of David Copperfield.” us, to shock us, to make us question
Television has had a marked ef- established things. The very title of one
fect on the art of magic. Firstly, it of their TV shows should tell us some-
has made a greater number of people thing. It was called “The Unpleasant
aware of the art. It is estimated that World of Penn & Teller.” We might be
David Copperfield’s television shows squeamish at seeing Teller apparently
alone reached a staggering three bil- Penn and Teller crushed by a truck. Were we terrified
lion people. Secondly, it has changed by their version of the “Bullet Catch”?
the way in which magic is presented. It is not, perhaps, these outstand- Or did we simply close our eyes and
Television cameras give us ultra-close ing effects for which he will be re- hope for the best?
shots of tricks, so magicians, espe- membered in the long term. He has The “Bullet Catch” trick was
cially those who specialize in sleight of assembled an “International Museum first described in the book “Natu-
hand tricks, have to be extra slick. and Library of the Conjuring Arts.” ral Magic” in 1785, although there
Illusions have grown in dimen- It is the world’s largest collection of
sion. At one time, making an elephant the history of the world of magic and
disappear would seem extreme, but currently has more than 80,000 differ- Illusion, continued on p. 6