In just one hour Adam and Blake attempted to come up with a new magic trick. The following is an excerpt from their conversation.
Blake Vogt This month’s special guest is Adam Rubin. Thank you for being here—or thank you for being there—where are you?
Adam Rubin It’s a pleasure and an honor. I’m in the library of the Art of Play Curiosity Shop in Brooklyn, New York. There are a lot of old magic books back there. Puzzles on the other side of the room. Prototypes on the windowsill.
BV I have some prototypes behind me too, but they make no sense to anybody. You and I have known each other for a long time, but we’ve never done a formal jam. This just starts off as a conversation, and then if we land anywhere, we land somewhere.
AR I have an agenda.
BV Oh, OK. No one has ever come on here with an agenda.
AR Well, you were like, “Oh, can you do me this favor and do this podcast?” I’m taking full advantage of Blake Vogt. I am working on a project called This Book Is Magic. It will be the first book that I’ve ever written for the lay public about magic, and the first full book I’ve ever written about magic. It owes a lot to Mark Setteducati’s book, The Magic Show. I’ve collected about a dozen pop-up magic books that do different magical things. Some of them are more performative, where you operate all the different tricks. Some of them perform for you as the reader, and that’s what this one is about.
BV That is so cool.
AR I’m really excited about it. There’s a bunch of essays about magic, trying to expand people’s conception of what magic could be in the modern era. It’s not specifically about theatrical magic or conjuring, it’s about broader concepts as well. It is also an ontological artifact in that it is an example of itself. This book is magic. This Book Is Magic.
The rules are: No loose pieces. No prior knowledge required. Each thing must still be impressive the second time you do it. And no reset.
