ART, ILLUSION AND MAGIC

Every image is essentially an illusion—a representation of a thing, never the thing itself. For many artists the illusion is itself the art. From early trompe l’oeil paintings to Juan Munoz's close-up photographs of sleight-of-hand card tricks, artists have long shown an affinity for the ploys of grandstanding stage magicians. "Magic Show", a newly published catalogue to accompany a travelling exhibition of the same name, explores the relationship between art and magic. Written by Jonathan Allen and Sally O'Reilly, who co-curated the show for London's Hayward Gallery, the book discerns the connection between "lowbrow" trickery and loftier manipulations. Many of the 24 contemporary artists featured (in both the show and the book) borrow directly from iconic magic tricks. Sinta Werner's "Disjunction" plays on the idea of a disappearing act, but in this case it is the viewer who vanishes; the site-specific installation creates the effect of approaching a mirror without a reflection. Susan Hiller's "Homage to Yves Klein" is a more upbeat take on his rather dark photo-montage, "Leap into the Void" (1960). The result is a charming play on the trick of levitation. In other works, artists challenge the viewer's ability to suspend disbelief—a crucial requirement of magic-show audiences. Tom Friedman's clever "Untitled (A Curse)" (1992), consists of a bare pedestal marking the location of an invisible eleven-inch spherical space that had been cursed by a witch; it is left to the observer to decide whether the empty space is worthy of consideration. Christian Jankowski's video artworks, particularly "Televista" (1999), during which he rings and records several television fortune-tellers, call attention to the clichéd scripts of professional clairvoyants. The book is filled with short essays about the contribution theatrical magic has made to visual culture, with examples of superstitious iconography. The last section, "Conjuring Consent", contains photographs of magic props and artefacts that are clearly a product of their historical moment, such as an odd reversible gas mask from the 1940s. The release of "Magic Show" coincides with a touring gallery exhibition making its way around Britain throughout 2010, featuring both the artwork and magic artefacts side by side. It is on view at the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool through April 10th, when it moves to Tullie House Museum in Carlisle and then to Cardiff's Chapter Ltd before making its London debut at the Pump House Gallery on October 6th. (The Hayward Gallery recently closed for renovations; it will reopen on June 19th.) "Magic Show", by Jonathan Allen and Sally O'Reilly, is available from Hayward Publishing. Southbank Centre has information about the exhibition. ~ ERIN DEJESUS