In the magic community arrises from time to time the topic of ‘being a creator’ or ‘creations’. So – time to take a short look at what creation, creators or ‘being creative’ could mean.
If we look it up in the dictionary, the results will be somewhat like this:
To create:
To bring into existence.
To invest with a new form, office, or rank.
To produce or bring about by a course of action or behavior.
To produce through imaginative skill.
To make or bring into existence something new.
In magic, we often reduce the term ‘create’ somewhat and many think, a creation is only about putting out something completely new. Something that has never before seen. Often we confuse and mix the terms ‘creation’ with ‘invention’. In my view, this is sort of narrow-minded. While the latter deals exclusively with the never-been-before, the former is much broader.
To create something doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be absolutely new and never before been there. Creating something can also mean to take something existing and changing it or adding something worthwhile or important to it.
Creating can also mean to take an existing trick and to write an original script or presentation for it. Some very good tricks are only so good because of the new slant on the presentation a certain person gave them. Before, they were mere little puzzles, until someone thought about how to elevate it from the puzzle level into the miracle class. So, this person actually created something.
To create something has to do with contributing something own.
A recent example is Matt Johnson’s peek envelope (After Dark). The underlying principle (that special envelope) is not new. In fact, I have such (switching) envelopes in my archive for many years. In former times they were used solely for switching billets, bills, cards or as a quadruple out (with double facers in each compartment).
But then Matt added some certain extras to the envelope, which transformed it into a gimmick which enables you to peek an information written on a business card which was inserted into the envelope.
So, he didn’t invent a new principle (the envelopes did exists before), but, by adding certain important details, he created a ‘new’ peek envelope. As a matter of fact, because he did this, he can be called a creator.
If you are interested in this envelope, go to his website at: http://www.urbandeception.com/afterdark. It is worth the twenty bucks he charges.
Maybe in magic we could take some heat off this topic and omit the useless and often embarrassing discussions, if we tackle the creation problem from this angle, with a bit more openness and tolerance.
Everybody who contributes something own to something known, can be called a creator, the same as the person that produces something entirely new.
Creation is not about something new, but something unique and from one’s own soul and brain.
Pass it on!