Magic (illusion)

A magician performing on the street in Troy, New York.

Magic is the performance of tricks or the creation of illusions. It is a type of performing art that entertains audiences. It is done by a magician or an illusionist.^[1] The magician does things that look impossible or supernatural by ordinary means.^[2] Card tricks, disappearing beauties, pulling a rabbit from a hat, and sawing a person in half are examples of this kind of magic.

Magic (illusion) Media

Well known illusionist David Blaine performs magic for Barack Obama at the White House, 2016
Penn & Teller's Walk of Fame Star. They are 21st century magicians.
Advertisement for Isaac Fawkes' show from 1724 in which he boasts of the success of his performances for the King and Prince George
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, pioneer of modern magic entertainment
John Nevil Maskelyne, a famous magician and illusionist of the late 19th century.
A magician, from the point of view of the audience, seemingly igniting fire out of nowhere from the palm, which can be deemed either stage or shock magic. It can even promote religion.
Amateur magician performing "children's magic" for a birthday party audience
French comedy magician Éric Antoine
Transformation: Change of color

References

↑ Henning Nelms. Magic and Showmanship: A Handbook for Conjurers, page 1 (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 2000).
↑ Jim Steinmeyer. "A New Kind of Magic," in Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear (New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003).

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[1] Henning Nelms. Magic and Showmanship: A Handbook for Conjurers, page 1 (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 2000).

[2] Jim Steinmeyer. "A New Kind of Magic," in Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear (New York, NY: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003).

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