Hello everyone!
Today’s topics are: Greetings from Vienna (with photos); Vernon Says – Remarkable Quotes That Will Make You Think.
These are The Magic Memories 144, gone online Sunday, October 1st, 2023, at 0:07h sharp.
All The Magic Memories from 2021, 2022, including the Magic Advent Calendar from 2020, can be found HERE.
Greetings From Vienna
As you are reading these The Magic Memories it is the last day of the International Close-up Symposium in Wiener Neustadt, near Vienna, Austria, taking place at Bill Cheung’s Magic Theatre, have a quick look HERE.
I will tell you more about it and what you missed in an upcoming The Magic Memories.
Vernon Says – Remarkable Quotes That Will Make You Think
Looking through my notebooks I found a large file with utterances of “The Professor” I have collected over the years, most from books, magazines and videotapes, some from direct conversation (these latter too few, unfortunately). Here are some I had forgotten about; if you take the time to ponder them, very much like Zen koans, you will reach some interesting insight, I promise.
“In magic, today as always, the effect is what counts. The method or methods used are always purely secondary.”
“Confusion is not magic.”
“The great difference between the professional magician and the amateur magician is that the professional magician knows what an effect is. He knows what the audience sees. It doesn’t matter how crude the method of performing, as long as the effect is good, he will use it. The amateur is more interested in the method. If the method is very subtle and fine and diabolically clever, he loves the trick regardless of what people think.” (“The Vernon Touch”, the first column, Genii SEP 1968)
“The means of expression can become so exquisite, that you may end up expressing nothing.”
“Strive each time when learning a difficult sleight to do it a little better.”
“Everything a person does in life is important. To be a true artist it takes much more than the audience sees on stage.”
“Natural lines that come up from the spectators are better than concocted ones.“
“I always seemed happiest when I was striving for something. I learned early that achieving anything was a great pleasure. I’m a real stickler. You can strive for perfection in magic, but you can never reach it.”
“In magic you get insight into how people think by the way they react. Character comes out when people watch magic.”
“If you don’t like to rehearse, change your profession”
After a serious accident at age 48, where he broke both arms that the doctors wanted to amputate, but fortunately didn’t, he said, “I didn’t worry. I’ve always believed that in life, when anything happens, the great thing is to adjust and to avoid worry, no matter what.”
“Great magic is simple, and simple magic is great.”
“You should never have to practice, but rather, want to practice.”
“If you have a thorough understanding of things, you can take liberties.” (Dai Vernon in Revelations video Vol. 5)
In a letter (1958) to Roger Klause: “First – thoroughly understand what you aim to accomplish, then practice.”
“What the eyes see, the heart must believe.” (A Hofzinser quote Vernon enjoyed using)
Vernon’s three Credos: “Use your head. Be natural. Be yourself.”
“Everything a person does in life is important. To be a true artist it takes much more than the audience sees on stage.”
When asked if he knew the Bible, Dai Vernon answered, “Of course I know the Bible, it’s the Erdnase of religion!”
“Henry Christ was the brain behind Annemann. Annemann wouldn’t even be known without Henry Christ. He used to say, the trouble with magicians is – and this particularly pertains to Marlo. Marlo is a genius when it comes to cards. But Marlo has one fault. He takes a move, some kind of maneuver, and he makes tricks out of them. This is not the way to do magic. The way to do magic is to have a lot of tools, different ways to do a double lift, a palm, a shift. You have tools, like a carpenter has tools. Now you think of a good effect and then you take the tools and work out the effect. But if you take the tools and try to make an effect out of it, the effect is never strong.” (quoted from his lecture at the Mendoza Magic Day 1979)
Vernon used to call magic converted into a puzzle “intrigue magic”.
Ref. Erdnase: “I can truthfully state, that if this book had not been written, my lifetime devotion to the possibilities of a deck of cards would have been very unrewarding.”
I just ran over these quotes again and am now convinced that today’s The Magic Memories should not be more than that.
My advice is – if I may – that you take three quotes, and then find three tricks you already do well and try to apply the thought.
My first pick would be: “Strive each time when learning a difficult sleight to do it a little better.”
Apply this not only to techniques, but also to a performance piece, and other things you do in everyday life, such as cooking, driving, gardening, sports (if you really have to…), etc.
I let you guess what my other two picks are…
Wish you all an excellent week!
Roberto Giobbi
So much valuable advice in this memory. Excellent job Roberto!
I am not sure your two other favorites, but mine are:
1. Go for effect over method. This is great advice to run back to when I’m learning new things and feel underwater. If I don’t think the effect is cool to the audience, then I have to move on! E.g. “A Sure Bet”, CC#3 p. 565; a really simple piece of technical work, with an effect that really pops.
2. “I didn’t worry. I’ve always believed that in life, when anything happens, the great thing is to adjust and to avoid worry, no matter what.” Great lesson to learn for everyone on detaching from expectations and flowing with life.
I’m only about a year into learning but I’ve really appreciated the advice about “the effect is what counts” as I learn new effects. I find a lot of effects are interesting to practice and think about, but don’t have the “wow” effect that I’d want to see as an audience member.
Great example of a wonderful effect (with fairly simple mechanics) is “A Sure Bet” from Card College Vol. 3. That effect was so strong that it made my 8 year old’s eyes go wide…which is very hard to do b/c he’s usually so focused on burning hands that he misses where the effect is going!
My other favorite: “I didn’t worry. I’ve always believed that in life, when anything happens, the great thing is to adjust and to avoid worry, no matter what.” A beautiful practice in life.