Call for Comments about Exposure in Magic

Posted by Nik Taylor on 2024-10-25

Exposing magic secrets is often seen as spoiling the sense of wonder that magic creates. Most magic clubs and societies strictly forbid their members from revealing magic secrets to the public. However, the exact meaning of "exposing a magic trick" is often unclear, and professional magicians rarely explore this concept in detail.

Brian Rappert and Gustav Kuhn address this issue in their paper, "Towards a Theory of Exposure," published in the Journal of Performance Magic. This article offers a new multidisciplinary perspective on exposure, supported by research with amateur and professional magicians. It treats magic as a social interaction between performer and audience and introduces the concept of 'boundary work' to explore the complexities of revealing magic secrets. The article aims to foster discussion about what constitutes appropriate behaviour in performance magic.

The journal invites both academics and magicians to join this discussion. Exposure is one of the most controversial topics in magic, and we hope to enable our community to reflect on our assumptions and goals. The Journal of Performance Magic is accepting written comments and reviews on the article, which will be reviewed for accuracy and published alongside it.

Deadline: January 10, 2025.

How to submit 

• Please submit your comment as a new article submission to the Journal of Performance Magic, and select "comment" when asked to choose a section.
• All articles and comments are fully open access and published for free.
• Comments should be no longer than 1,000 words and may include references.
• Please provide a title and a one line summary (50 words max) for your comment
• Please follow the journal’s style guidance.