Culture of Illusionism and Ethics of its Practice. Analysis of Two Card Manipulation Procedures.

Abstract

The present work is a record of one of the stages of an ongoing research project centered on illusionism and its relationship with the material dimension. Illusionism, as a discipline built by the accumulation of secret knowledge, contemplates three interdependent components: the context, the subject (illusionist and spectator) and objects. In this investigative phase, I focus on the subjects involved, who, through their behavior, model the morphology of the artistic field of illusionism. I consider it appropriate to analyze in what way and under what conditions the exchange of cultural values ​​is activated within the community of magicians that, as entertainment artists, fulfill a clear social function. This approach is appropriate to discover how the members involved in this restricted field –that is, within the brotherhood of illusionists– move and how they articulate with the specialized and profane public. Other questions are linked to this inquiry, such as what is the nature of work, what institutions create its members (professionals and amateurs) in a field whose deontics are based on the ethics of secrecy and under what human values ​​are they connected –the card magician in particular– with the spectator-collaborator.