The Genii Forum

When my Genii arrives, I do the quick run thru the pages and preview the articles. When I start reading it, I start with 'Genii Speaks', 'On the Slant' and if Roberto has a 'Session', I make sure I've got a cup of coffee and I am sitting in a my nice chair...ready to enjoy.

I have not seen many comments on his articles such as the April "Artistic Magic" or his January "Assemblage II", and I just want to make sure I go on record by saying 'thanks'.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Card Clinic with Mr. Giobbi and his articles serve as 'refresher' moments for me.

Thanks again for the great articles Roberto and I'll think of you the next time I have a pralin from Wittamer at Place des Sablons in Brussels. (you were right, they are the best!) ;)

Cheers
"JR" Russell
"Fly Navy"

Roberto is one of my all time favorites. He is a great magician, and I can't get enough of his books.

I too love reading his articles, I can't wait for more.

In our June issue Roberto explains a superb handling of the classic Ace Assembly designed to be done on stage with multiple spectators involves. Another column for you to look forward to!

I really enjoyed the new write-up from Roberto in the current issue. I always thought a cards across or something similar was one of the few card effects you could do for a small group on a small stage setting that made sense and was visible by all. Roberto has proven that an assembly is also possible. Great job!

Regarding Roberto Giobbi's June series:.
Unfortunately Roberto made a mistake: Hannes Friedrich was not a journalist, but a Teacher and Headmaster.

For those of you in Ontario, Quebec, Upper New York State and Michigan, please note that we will presenting Roberto Giobbi in Toronto on August 12th for a rare North American lecture appearance. Here is the link with more details: http://www.magicana.com/Giobbi.php?vSec=wor

Sorry to bring up an older point, but I seem to remember in the Hofzinser issue from a couple years back that Roberto had a list of several presentation ideas for different types of routines. At the end of the article it mentioned that if we liked that list, and would like to see more, write in...well, I'm writing in! I'd love to see more ideas from Roberto like these!

One thing that Mr. Giobbi has mentioned several times is his views on Robert Houdin's famous "magician-actor" quote. It would be wonderful to hear his thoughts, unless he has already printed them. Could you relay the message Richard?

I happened to notice Mr. Giobbi's column missing in the September issue...

Not missing: he appears bi-monthly. His column was in the August issue and will appear next in the October issue.

Wow, can't believe I didn't realize that! Sorry for the confusion on my part, Richard.

Happy news, CARD COLLEGE LIGHTER, new book from Mr Giobbi.

http://www.hermeticpress.com/

Thanks for the news Mats!! I can't get enough of Mr. Giobbi's insight...

I find Roberto Giobbi's column of inestimable value. He makes one re-examine one's conceptions about card magic, suggests items that one might have overlooked, and gives us the insight that can only come from a working professional.

For the student of card magic, Mr. Giobbi's words are gold. It is obvious that he puts an enormous amount of work into the column, and he has my sincere thanks.

Matt Field

I agree, i've only recently subscribed to Genii, and I am particularly enjoying Roberto's column,
i've looked at a few in the Ask Alexander archives, however could anyone tell me when Roberto's first column was?
I'd like to read them chronologically.

I'm also currently enjoying reading his "Ask Roberto Giobbi", which in case you haven't heard of it is where you ask Roberto a question and he relies with a detailed essay.

But i'm eager to read as much of Genii as i can, and i'm planning on starting with Roberto's column first, so if anyone can tell me when this started i would be grateful.

thanks

JR, he just celebrated his 10th anniversary of the column, so start looking about 10 years back.

Thank you Richard, 10 years should keep me busy!

Using this Ask Alexander search, you should be able to find most of his columns: "The Genii Session"

sjrwheeler wrote:... however could anyone tell me when Roberto's first column was?...

Althought I haven't indexed Genii from 2010 backwards (yet), I can't give you the answer you are looking for. However, I thought that you might find this information about Roberto's columns from 2011 and 2012 (year, month, page, title format) useful:

2011, January, 14, The Genii session: on practicing magic and other issues
2011, March, 14, The Genii session: the Pat Page workshop part II
2011, May, 15, The Genii session: the Pat Page workshop part III
2011, July, 18, The genii session: card magic is the poetry of magic
2011, September, 20, The genii session: Notes on Erdnase
2011, November, 18, The genii session: how to read Erdnase
2012, January, 22, The Genii session: every artist is a professor
2012, March, 32, The Genii session: further details of handling
2012, May, 18, The Genii session: Rolf Andra magic with a smile

Roberto's first column was?... IN jANUARY 2002

thanks everyone, this thread has been very useful to me.

Ask Alexander is fantastic...

they say they will ban you if you save or print too many pages, i tend to do most of my reading in my lunch hour at work... does anyone know how many pages are too many?

Many thousands are too many.

"One thing that Mr. Giobbi has mentioned several times is his views on Robert Houdin's famous "magician-actor" quote. It would be wonderful to hear his thoughts, unless he has already printed them."

Giobbi has a rare interesting take on what is, with "I know it when I see it" (P. Stewart, pornography), the most overrated aphorism ever, in that it's accorded profound status on its own terms.

Re Robert-Houdin's quote, see question 9 in this PDF: http://www.lybrary.com/ask-roberto-giobbi-p-11669.html

I was thinking about the Houdin quote in light of the recent Is Magic Art thread/video. And I've decided that most of the arguments on this subject are a waste of time for the specific reason that they do not focus on practical applications. In other words they try to talk about whether the statement is true or false.

What I find myself doing more and more is ignoring that part as much as possible, and trying instead to ask myself, in what way can I use the idea(s) to make my magic better.

What I take from the Houdin quote is this: A magician is an actor. His techniques are the same as the actors. Vocal production. Movement. Acting (i.e. performing a script). Improvisation.

So from this I know that if I want to be better, I need to practice these skills. If I wanted to be a professional, I would want to train in these skills.

Vocal Production
Movement
Acting
Improvisation

These are the foundational skills of the magician.

Sleight-of-hand and other traditional magic skills, are, in a sense, optional, in that there are lots of magic tricks that do not require any, and the audience should never see be able to tell what method you are using in any event. The only thing the audience experiences are your vocal production, movement, acting, and improvisation.


I myself do practice and use sleight-of-hand, because I enjoy it, and because I perform not just for my audience but also for myself—as an amateur I have a lot of freedom in this regard. There are huge practical concerns too—I can do lots of tricks with ordinary objects. So I'm not saying don't practice sleight of hand. But how many of us only practice our sleight of hand, and aren't even aware of the basic principles of vocal production, movement, acting, and improvisation?


Similarly: Although I think that the question "Is Magic Art" (or Is Magic An Art Form) is a dumb question, I think you can make your magic better by considering what makes magic artistic, and what kind of artistic expression, if any, you want to have in your magic.