Sleight of Hand Artist:
Sleight of Hand Artist Steven Carlson performing coin magic.
SLEIGHT OF HAND: The use of digital dexterity and cunning to deceive.
The sleight-of-hand artist relies on digital skills to perform his illusions. These techniques are invisible to the audience. The juggler openly displays his hard-earned skills. The sleight-of-hand artist hides them. They are concealed within natural movements and actions.
Beyond the finely acquired skills of his dexterous fingers, the sleight of hand artist also relies upon other subtleties to accomplish his deceptions: Psychology and timing, language, both verbal and physical, help him in deceiving all of the audience’s senses.
Sleight of hand is synonymous with the art of close-up magic. It’s a form of magic performed within close proximity to the audience. The objects used are common everyday items, playing cards, coins, paper currency, and even cell phones. Though anything that fits into the artist’s hands becomes magical. This impromptu style of close-range magic makes deception seem totally impossible, yet amazingly, the totally impossible still occurs.
Close up Magic, what is close up magic?
What is close-up magic? What is a close-up magician?
Close-up magic is the intimate art of producing astounding illusions by sleight of hand performed within close proximity to the audience.
The magical objects or props need to fit in the close-up magician’s hands. The traditional props are playing cards, coins, cups & balls, and even dice. However, anything that fits into the magician’s hands is fair game for his miracles: a cell phone, a pen, paper napkins, a saltshaker, a coffee cup, or a dollar bill.
Unlike the stage performer, the close-up artist brings his magic right into the audience space. There’s no stage or curtains, no boxes or mirrors, simply an object in the magician’s hands held inches away from the spectator’s eyes. The magic often happens right in the spectator’s hand!
Under these strict, close-up, and challenging conditions, deception seems utterly impossible. Yet, miraculously, the totally impossible still occurs! Close-up magic is by far the most demanding form of the magical arts, and when done perfectly, it is the most astounding!
Close-up magic is best performed for an audience of 30 or fewer and can be performed sitting at a table or standing. With the arrival of LSV (large-screen video) technology, larger groups can be accommodated.
Another form of close-up magic is strolling magic. This style has become popular for social and cocktail hours, where guests stand and mingle in small groups. The close-up magician moves around the room entertaining these smaller groups of guests. Street magic is also a form of close-up magic.
https://www.stevenpaulcarlson.com
Photo & art credits:
Photo art manipulation by Steven Paul Carlson, portrait photo by Nick Olson
Sleight-of-Hand Artist, Steven Paul Carlson
Sleight of Hand Artist, Steven Carlson, performing his elegant style of close-up magic for guests at the beautiful Forepaugh’s Restaurant in St. Paul, MN. The magic event was on Halloween night, a tribute to the great escape artist, Harry Houdini.
In 1899, Houdini’s career was going nowhere, and he was seriously contemplating retirement from entertainment. But his big break came in St. Paul, MN, at the Palm Garden beer hall (less than a half mile away from the Forepaugh’s mansion) when he met manager Martin Beck. Beck, impressed with Houdini’s handcuff act, advised Houdini to concentrate on the escapes and booked him on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. The rest is history.
Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. He was 52.
One Coin Magic
Elegant Coin Magic by Steven Paul Carlson
Magic with coins is my favorite expression within the performance art of Close-Up Magic. I have worked with this particular “One Coin” routine for approximately 35 years. A magical effect is never finished; it just keeps evolving and growing. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!
My thanks to the very talented Kevin MacLeod for creating the beautiful music and allowing me to use it here.
Music:
“Sardana” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
© 2015 Steven Paul Carlson.
This video is copyrighted and may not be used without the written permission of Steven Paul Carlson
Close-up Coin Magic – Steven Paul Carlson
In magic we call this effect, a coin assembly. Coins magically move from one place to another as if attracted and then, in some cases, instantly return to their original locations. This version, of this classic, is particularly intriguing because this happens numerous times in different ways. My first post of this video did not have music so that is the reason for the new posting.
I hope you enjoy!
Steven
Music by Kevin MacLeod, “Not As It Seems” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Close-up Magic by Steven Paul Carlson
Close-up magic by Steven Paul Carlson
The style of magic that I perform is called Close-up Magic. This style of sleight-of-hand magic has been described as the ultimate experience in magical entertainment. It’s magic that is performed within inches of the audience and usually witnessed from all angles. This artistic form of close-up sleight-of-hand magic is by far the most challenging to perform. The up-close, intimate nature of this form of magic makes it the strongest form of magical entertainment.
The close-up magician’s props range from the common to the classic, from napkins, saltshakers, and coffee cups to playing cards, coins, and cups and balls.
Many of the magical items are elegantly handcrafted and are works of art in themselves!
art & magic 