Posts in Cool Stuff
Check out the LIVE INTERVIEW!

Ghabrana Nahi is a web show hosted by Rafea Moshin of Evenement, an Event Management and Solutions Company based in Pakistan.

Honored to be featured on their 20th episode as their first international guest!

 
 

Discover what sparked my interest in magic, the challenges faced and surmounted when moving west, and how I’m currently making adjustments to meet this moment.

And of course, there’s a bit of magic as well.

We had a fantastic time and hope you’ll have a look!

Masters of “Fake News” + Illusions: The Art of Magic
David Ben - Photo credit Paul Alexander

David Ben - Photo credit Paul Alexander

 

David Ben is the Artistic Director of Magicana, an arts organization dedication to the exploration and advancement of magic as a performing art.

And he’s always up to interesting things…

Magicians and Fake News

Here’s an interesting opinion about Magicians and Fake News contributed to The Global and Mail.

This is more challenging in the digital age, when people prefer answers immediately – even if they are based on false memories and narratives – rather than embark on a journey to the realization that perhaps there are some things better left unexplained.
— David Ben, Artistic Director, Magicana

Illusions: The Art of Magic

 
Adolph Friedländer, Comedians de Mephisto Co. Allied with Le Roy-Talma-Bosco, 1905.

Adolph Friedländer, Comedians de Mephisto Co. Allied with Le Roy-Talma-Bosco, 1905.

 

David has also guest curated Illusions: The Art of Magic, which runs from February 22nd - May 18, 2020 at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The exhibition includes some amazing experiences, including live talks, performances, films, and other events.

Magicana

David’s organization, Magicana is a fantastic resource to explore — whether you’re magician or not.

Enjoy.

Clearer, Closer, Better

I met Emily Balcetis many years ago at the Tribeca Ball, in New York City. She was a guest of the organizer and I performed bit close up magic for her and we got to talking.

One thing led to another — as things often do — and she invited me to visit her class and talk about Visual Perception in Magic with her students at NYU’s Psychology Department. We did this a handful of times over the course of a few years and it was a great learning experience for me.

Here she is speaking at TED:

 
 
 
IMG_2959.jpg

Anyway, Penguin Random House is publishing Emily’s book and I’m thrilled to have a couple of pages all to myself!

You can pre-order it here.

Thanks, Emily! It’s an honor.

And congratulations on your success!