Red Handkerchief

If that doesn't work, try:
this
or this:

link
Ursula

Commentary:
From the magician's board:
Vince Hancock
Member
Member # xxxx

posted August 13, 2006 11:11 PM |
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In the spirit of cross-pollination:


quote:
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Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
"neener-neener" ?
Is that when you put the tip of your thumb on your nose and waggle your other fingers in the direction of another person?
from Magic, Ego, Opinion and Truth

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I think the funny gesture mentioned above is precisely the kind of thing being misunderstood lately--whether issued by fellow magic enthusiasts or performance artists.

Clearly, everybody gets the harmless message of "neener-neener"* when it's issued by one of the guys, but I wonder why the joke is missed by so many when it comes from a woman.

I don't think the video clip of Ursula Martinez shows an incompetent magician, a goofy stripper or even a performer who's trying to mix two genres. I'm not the first to say it, but it's worth repeating; I think the clip shows a woman who's publicly making fun of mediocre magicians.

A stereotypical, lousy magic act has a lot of mugging. It has a lot of exaggerated, impressed looks from the magician as each miracle is accomplished. If you add music, you may produce a monstrosity. Without any study of dance, the magician may very well attempt some moves. Luckily, head-bobbing and shoulder-hunching are two "safe" possibilites. For some magicians, this procedure may have mutated into instinct--we see somebody else do this goofy stuff and we recognize it as Natural Magical Motions.

If somebody wanted to mock lousy magicians, she would only have to exaggerate what is commonplace in magic. To really achieve that, she may have to go quite far, since absurd premises and preposterous climaxes...well that's what she's trying to ridicule, not imitate.

I would say that Martinez's ridicule is fairly severe. Instead of rolling her eyes, like the average polite person, she's taking aim at crass performance. Her hand-wiggling and mock-amazement doesn't strike me as lousy technique--it looks more like ridicule of lousy technique.

As far as the stripping, it's plain that she's not even trying to appear sexy or alluring. The clothes simply come off. So much posturing and coy-lover power-trips are demonstrated in second-rate stage magic--one can only wonder to what sum it's all supposed to add up.

Martinez's "Hanky Panky" routine has stripped mediocre magic of all its pretensions: any suggestion of magic is gone (highlighted by "get this" elbow-ribbing and a pointless miracle), and any sincere or artistic body movements, be it dancing, flirting or smiling, are absent (replaced with pelvic-only motions, mocking looks and the nude, inexpressive body).

At basis, all you have left is a mechanical show, i.e. what an audience is given by a slapdash magic routine: a fantasy that has no connection to one's wishes or hopes, and a performer that offers flash and shock in lieu of character or engagement.

Vince Hancock

*neener-neener (aka "Wenceslas Position"): See David Cerny's excellent work on an idea originally conceived by Jean Hugard. In essence, the primary "neener" (possibly a corruption of the French non, jamais! prohibitive exclamation) constitutes the first phase of the traditional glide. The secondary "neener" is not merely the repositioning movement, as Braue famously argued, but a subtle, powerful variation that provides ultimate control.
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Posts: 13 | From: Bear Lake, Michigan | Registered: Jan 2005 | IP: Logged

Bob Walder
Member
Member # xxxx

posted August 14, 2006 02:11 AM |
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Well.....yes, but - and here's the point - it was FUNNY

I have show this to numerous people now - male and female - all muggles - and without exception they have all found it hilarious. There WERE all Brits though......

Bob