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The Performance of Illusion and Illusionary Performatives: Learning the Language of Theatrical Magic
Author(s) -
Jones Graham,
Shweder Lauren
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of linguistic anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.463
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1548-1395
pISSN - 1055-1360
DOI - 10.1525/jlin.2003.13.1.51
Subject(s) - performative utterance , illusion , magic (telescope) , situated , context (archaeology) , aesthetics , dimension (graph theory) , sociology , psychology , art , computer science , cognitive psychology , history , artificial intelligence , physics , mathematics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
This article highlights the linguistic dimension of sleight‐of‐hand magic performance through a situated study of the transmission of a trick from expert to novice magician. Focusing on the context of apprenticeship rather than performance, we distinguish an emphasis on linguistic techniques for producing illusion, skills deeply embedded in the magician's artful practice. Ultimately, we conclude that a magician's talk is performative in that its meaning lies in the effect it has on the visual experience of the audience, who co‐constructs the trick.