In the past years there has been a revival of the ‘magic’ with a Rubik’s Cube. More and more clever methods to do various effects with it. The craze once again started …
For me, the cube has always been a toy. A sophisticated one, but still a toy. The idea is to get it solved. The quicker this happens, the better the performer is.
As with almost everything these days, competitions started. Who is the quickest in solving it, doing it blindfolded and behind the back, etc. Typically, in these competitions a lot of kids enter and show off their gift.
The same happened to dice-stacking. What was a nice effect and novelty for us magicians, transformed into a sport. Same with that silly cup-stacking business.
I don’t mind the cube craze. Magicians are often like small children and therefore, something like the cube has to be tackled. But, personally, I don’t want to perform these effects and I am not interested in it because they don’t impress me. What might be an acceptable demonstration for a mentalist (doing it blindfolded, behind the back or demonstrating memory) is reduced to a mere trick with a toy, when the cube suddenly with a toss into the air rightens itself.
Of course, there are some impressive demonstrations with this toy. I remember one where a few dozens of the cubes were involved. But for me the cube simply doesn’t fit into a close-up show, nor into table hopping.
Magic is about entertaining people, interacting with them and – above all – presenting something they wonder about. A magical effect. Standing there in front of them and showing off one’s ability in solving a toy puzzle doesn’t seem to fit into my understanding of magic.
On the other hand, as my friend Wolfgang Moser from Austria proves, some very nice visuals are possible with the cube. But these have nothing to do with solving the cube. The transformation he does on this clip is the method from a trick that is over a hundred years old. That always has been done with a big die that no one would recognize in real life.
Does the Rubik’s Cube have a place in magic?
I think: yes, definitely! It is the perfect item to replace the old fashioned dice magicians have been using for ages and that nobody these days accepts. A lot of the old apparatus tricks with big dice could be revamped, technically improved and so could start a new life in the history of legerdemain.
Pass it on!