Who is...

[ThrallMind]

I don't know if I can truly say I have a favorite. I like many magicians for many different reasons.

David Copperfield, for getting me into magic.

Jeff McBride, because his performances remind of something out of Cirque Du Soleil, and his card manipulation is out of this world.

Ed Solomon, for his dark and twisted take on various effects.

Derren Brown, because his take on performance is amazing.

Bizzaro from our very own forums. Watching his video made me remember why I love true stage acts. I would love to be able to attend one of his shows.

Michael Ammar, as I love his take on things, and is a great mind in the magic community. His cups and balls effect is by far one of my favorite things to perform.

Tom Mullica, comedy genius

Rafael Benetar, for his in depth research and handling of the double list is unmatched.

Bob Kohler, because his effects are fun, and he has cool uses for magnets.

Im sure there are more, but those are the names which come to mind at first.

And all these people are very nice. Aside from Derren and Bizzaro (Who I'm sure are nice also ), I have met them all, and they were very willing to listen to you, answer questions, and to just talk in general.

-ThrallMind

 

[ZachMueller]

Shoot Ogawa
John Carney
Gregory Wilson
Paul Wilson
Apollo robbins
Jay Sankey
Chris Kenner
The twins
David Regal
Justin Miller
Lee Asher
Danny Garcia
Teller
Good god i could go on and on.

Those where in no particular order btw.

 

[Glenn West]

Any who, how's 'bout I actually say something on topic, lol.

My "favourites" would be;

Slydini, incredible work on timing and misdirection
Vernon, and I'm not just saying that because he's the "in" name to drop
Tommy Wonder, outside of his intracit(sp) work, he was like a modern Slydini with HIS takes and work on timing etc
Lee Asher, handles a deck like no ones business
Greg Frewin, because fun to hang out with (but his magic, I could take it or leave it )

 

[Aris.SA]

daniel madison, bill malone, henry evans, and hoochy maybe

 

[youngd94]

I truly admire daniel garcia, wayne houchin, chris kenner, paul harris, and david harkey's creativity and completely out of the box thinking

I really love david blaine for his presentation, it mays seem kind of dull but it gets insane reactions. But the master of presentation and building suspense is Houdini.

But my favorites are cyril for really modernizing magic and david copperfield who is such a genius and has some of the most visually appealing and (for lack of a better word) fun effects.

 

[CoryOOreo]

Um, not really. all he did was bring it to the mainstream. He started nothing but a new found interest and fad focused on something that has been around fro a long time.

I think you may have misunderstood what I meant. I am well aware that this style of magic existed before Blaine started to perform on television. Magicians such as Paul Zenon performed in a similar fashion. But what David brought that was different was the focus on spectator's reactions, and the more down to earth approach. The character he created was revolutionary, and the style in which he performed was never seen before.

If you are really splitting hairs around the "presentation" of walking up to only a "few" people, instead of gathering a crowd, as in "traditional" busking, still, he did not start that either. He only brought a lot of media attention to it.

I never mentioned anything about crowd size, so I'm a little unsure as to why you brought this up.

Hell, what he did on the streets was no different than what
a lot of us did in school before his special even aired.

Once again, I am talking about his performance style and presentation.

Mind you, that was the source of a lot of peoples grudges with him, the simple fact that THEY were doing exactly what he was, and they were jealous that he was so big for doing it. I took it as reassurance in what I was doing.

Mind if I ask how old you are?

 

[Glenn West]

I think you may have misunderstood what I meant. I am well aware that this style of magic existed before Blaine started to perform on television. Magicians such as Paul Zenon performed in a similar fashion. But what David brought that was different was the focus on spectator's reactions, and the more down to earth approach. The character he created was revolutionary, and the style in which he performed was never seen before.



I never mentioned anything about crowd size, so I'm a little unsure as to why you brought this up.



Once again, I am talking about his performance style and presentation.



Mind if I ask how old you are?

I am 25.

I know that you did not mention audience size, I brought it up as an example of how what Blaine did could be considered different from busking.

Focusing the camera on spectators is not what defines "street magic." Yes, it was a brilliant move on his part, but it is not a presentation, or style of performance.

It started a new trend in magic on television, yes, but everything else Blaine did and does has been done before, he just popularized it, and he deserves full credit for doing so. But as far as a magician and how he/she presents his/her magic to the physical audience he/she can see and interact with, (ie, not the people at home watching the tv) Blaine did nothing new.

His "performance persona" as well was nothing new. Magicians have been taking different approaches to their "characters" forever. There is nothing new in that, and nothing new in the layed back, down to earth "character" either. He makes GREAT us of it, and not everyone could pull it off, but he developed his own great character

Again, also, his "character" is not what defines "street magic" either. It's just a new name for the same product. But it's rejuvenating magic, and it has mad this style of "busking" and "impromptu" performances more popular and prevalent than ever.

 

[JackOSpadesNik]

I truly admire daniel garcia, wayne houchin, chris kenner, paul harris, and david harkey's creativity and completely out of the box thinking

I really love david blaine for his presentation, it mays seem kind of dull but it gets insane reactions. But the master of presentation and building suspense is Houdini.

But my favorites are cyril for really modernizing magic and david copperfield who is such a genius and has some of the most visually appealing and (for lack of a better word) fun effects.

Good choices, but if you like out of the box thinking like they guys you listed, check out some of Luke Jermay's original work. Makes me laugh when I see some of his simple and bold methods that completely shatter your spectator.