Toward a Theory of Exposure n/a
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Excited attention towards the disclosure of methods – what is termed ‘exposure’– infuses both popular and practitioners’ portrayals of entertainment magic. As an art associated with ‘doing the impossible’, the disclosure of methods is widely held as ruining the prospects for experiencing astonishment. For all its familiarity, however, exposure is rarely subject to extended consideration in the thoughts and theories of professional magicians. In line with a tradition of conceiving of magic as a form of social interaction constituted through the relations between audiences and performers, this article offers a theorization of exposure; one grounded in empirical research with magicians. Varied notions of ‘boundary work’ are engaged which provide means for doing justice to the nuances of what it means to expose the secrets of magic. As an intervention into ongoing debates about what counts as appropriate conduct, the ultimate aim of the article is to help re-imagine what is at stake in conjuring.
Source: Journal of Performance Magic
DOI: 10.5920/jpm.1512
Authors: Brian Rappert, Gustav Kuhn
Institutions: University of Exeter, University of Plymouth
Language: English
Topic: Arts and Performance Studies
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4402860831