Magic is either viewed as dark, voodoo-esque practices of evil or just corny and cheesy top hats with rabbits. But through the perspective of a true Magic practitioner and artist, Magic is an opportunity to not just entertain, but to allow the spectators to experience true Astonishment. Many people tend to believe that the Art of Magic is all about the magician’s ability to either be the center of attention or fool unsuspecting victims. For the most part, neither is the case. The true objective of a conjurer is to centralize the viewer and strip away all logical thinking even for a split second thus creating a moment of possible impossibilities, a moment of childlike wonder, a moment of Astonishment.

 

but to change the mindset of the viewer. The physical subjects of my photographs are not the topics of my work but just the tools (just like illusions). The meaning of my work is created the moment the viewer loses their ability to comprehend the impossible feats within the photos and witness a contradictory battle between possible and impossible. Unlike most doSquare Circles is an exploration in Astonishment through the ideas of logical impossibilities made possible by the Art of Magic. There are many layers in the conceptual construct of my photographs but there is one primary goal; to not only create an emotional response like many other artists real time performances of Magic, my photographs leave behind an artifact of evidence and allow the viewers to experience that nostalgic childlike wonder whenever they flip through the pages of my photos.

 

It is crucial that I express the purity of these photos, none of these photos have been photoshopped in any way to create these illusions other than basic color corrections, cropping and other standard corrections. The camera is a placeholder for the viewer’s eyes and witnesses the illusion for them. Besides the occasional use of a reflective surface to build more confusion for the viewers, what you see is what you get.

 

George Figueroa // 2015

 

This world is a tightly organized delusional system where everything you create either makes things tighter or looser. A moment of Astonishment is a moment of looser...a sort of mini mental laxative for constipated consciousness.

-Paul Harris