“Details make for perfection, but perfection itself is not a detail.”

Leonardo Da Vinci.

Magician John Carney asks: What could one do to elevate the craft of magic to the level of art?

For him, “art should communicate something potentially interesting. People are interested, first and foremost, in themselves; second, in other people; and third, in things.”

In this vein, he offers the example of Dr. Hiroshi Sawa as someone who transforms a classic routine into something different, special, and exciting.

He draws inspiration from nature, from the sea:

Coins that are submarines on the ocean floor:

And one of his potential disciples (Shimpei) transforms a deck of cards into a genuine piano with "white" and "black" keys. Brilliant:

John Carney adds another example from Mr. Sawa:

“The typical magician makes coins appear and vanish without much justification. Sawa describes an experience in Las Vegas, where his hand plays the role of a slot machine. When he loses, we see the coins have vanished. When he wins, a large quantity of coins appears out of thin air.”

I think the key word here is justification.

Every action needs a cause that drives it — a motivation, a desire, an obstacle, a context that "justifies" why coins travel from one place to another or a card reappears in a spectator's pocket.

Maybe not always, but it seems like a great exercise for developing a presentation that keeps me hooked until the end.

Cheers!