DAN & DAVE

As a longtime fan and admirer of the TASCHEN art books, I have wondered when the “magic book” would come for severals years now. When I first heard it was going to become a reality a few years ago and that Mike Caveney and Jim Steinmeyer were involved, I didn’t think it could come soon enough. Anyone familiar with TASCHEN books knows they are of the highest quality and some might say as beautiful as the art they showcase. Expensive books they are (a few limited editions sell for upwards of $10,000), MAGIC is no exception and priced at $200. However, for a 650 page master archive of our arts history (1400-1950), is a a fair price in my opinion and well worth it. I have already placed my order and can’t wait to divulge its pages.

MAGIC, 1400-1950, is a book on the art of magic featuring 500 years of magic’s dazzling visual culture as a performing art. Read more information and leaf through a sample of the book on the TASCHEN website.

Available November 2009. Pre-Order Now.

Private Collection of Ricky Jay

“If everyone you knew spoke the truth, it would be almost as terrible as if everyone you knew lied.” – Ricky Jay

Filmmaker Errol Morris (The Fog of War, Standard Operating Procedure) has just conducted a fascinating interview on his blog for The New York Times with Ricky Jay (needs no introduction) about the relationship between lying and deception that I think you all should read.

When asked what advice he would give a young magician, Jay thinks about it for a second, then replies:

They should go out and perform as much as possible, they should have a sense of history about the art and they should respect what came before.

It’s sober advice for a craft often derided, with a quizzical eyebrow raised in the direction of practitioners.

Read the full article at nationalpost.com