Magic Show

by Sally O'Reilly

Magic Show demonstrates how artists adopt the perception-shifting tactics of theatrical magic to explore creative agency, the power of suggestion and the fragility of belief. This richly illustrated book contains essays on the intersections between art and magic by Jonathan Allen and Sally O'Reilly; texts on each of the 24 featured artists; new writing on the cultural history of magic by Simon During, Brigitte Felderer, Peter Lamont, Pierre Taillefer, Helen Varola and Marina Warner; a fold-out collation of texts and images exploring the dynamics of magic, art and power; and an illustrated selection of props and offbeat ephemera from the world of theatrical magic. Among the featured artists are Zoe Beloff, Center for Tactical Magic, Jackie & Denise Chapwoman, Susan Hiller, Christian Jankowski, Juan Munoz and Bruce Nauman.

116 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Sally O'Reilly has received numerous citations for her fiction, which has been shortlisted for the Ian St James Short Story Prize and the Cosmopolitan Short Story Award. A former Cosmopolitan New Journalist of the Year, her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Sunday Times, the Evening Standard, and the New Scientist. She teaches creative writing at the Open University and the University of Portsmouth in England. Dark Aemilia is her U.S. debut.