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Concept
Magic (illusion)
Summary
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as John Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic". During this period, performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Magic retained its popularity in the television age, with magicians such as Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, Criss Angel, Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, David Blaine, and Derren Brown modernizing the art form.
The world's largest-selling publication for magicians, Magic magazine, curated a list of the "100 most influential magicians of the 20th century" to have contributed to the modern development of the art of magic. According to the magician-culled list titled "Those Who Most Affected The Art in America", Harry Houdini holds the first rank, followed in decreasing order by Dai Vernon, David Copperfield, Harry Blackstone Sr., Doug Henning, Harlan Tarbell, Cardini, Mark Wilson, Siegfried & Roy, and Howard Thurston.
History of magic
The term "magic" etymologically derives from the Greek word mageia (μαγεία). In ancient times, Greeks and Persians had been at war for centuries, and the Persian priests, called magosh in Persian, came to be known as magoi in Greek. Ritual acts of Persian priests came to be known as mageia, and then magika—which eventually came to mean any foreign, unorthodox, or illegitimate ritual practice.
Official source
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