Pipo Villanueva

This will be nothing new to many but it has taken me a while to realize this, I believe the next revolution in card magic technique will come (or is already coming) from cardistry. Just as it happened before with the techniques from the card table. Those damn kids push everyday a little further the border of what it is possible to do with a deck of cards, looking for impossible combinations of movements without the constraint of looking for a practical use for them. Eventually we magicians will fully take advantage of that work, not to replace the old techniques, which are as great today as they were decades ago, but to incorporate them to our toolbox.

I am a layman in cardistry but I find there an enormous source of new ideas for card magic techniques, and new possibilities are created every day. I am not talking about that now we have to display dexterity and juggle with cards, not at all. Just as we didn’t have to pretend to be clumsy as gamblers do, we don’t have to do fancy cuts or sculptures with cards. It is not a matter of discovering a new way to do magic, but of enriching our technical capabilities. Sure most of cardistry work is not suitable for magic purposes, but still the source of new ideas is great. The exploration of those new digital mechanics, possibilities of the cards, improvements in coordination and “fingerbuilding” will inspire new sleights conceived specifically to resolve magic problems that are unthinkable now (see Tony Chang’s amazing work). Not necessary only for close-up, but for parlor or stage magic as well.

Now it makes little sense to me that rivalry between magic and cardistry. There are plenty of magicians who are not interested in magic, we don’t need more of those. If a boy is not interested in magic, but he is passionate about cards the best thing for him to do is focusing in cardistry, the best for ALL. Even if cardartists have no interest in magic we should have some interest in their work, if only in our own benefit. It is like having an enthusiastic army of young researchers exploring new possibilities with cards 24/7, and they do it for free (some of them may look arrogant and haughty, it is still a cheap price to pay).

I am not a big fan of juggling aimed to overcome extreme difficulty, but juggling aimed to express beauty is something else. That’s why I enjoy much more three balls juggling acts that other proposals more complicated from the technical point of view. Lately I’ve seen cardistry pieces that express beauty effortlessness and I am attracted to that, at least as a spectator.

My good friend Mario Lopez discovered to me Noel Heath, a Martian disguised as a human teenager, and I think he is absolutely insane.

Thanks for reading!

Pipo