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Jan Logemann Lecture
The Fylde Mystics
June 18th 2013
Reviewed by Allan Clarke MMC
Having enjoyed lectures from an unprecedented FOUR FISM champions in the
last 18 months the Fylde Mystics were again in the news for hosting the latest
World Card Magic Champion, Jan Logemann from Germany.
Jan competed in the FISM Championships last year and added the Card Magic trophy
to an already impressive array of awards. His style is very different and his
relaxed presentation belies the sheer inventiveness and tremendous planning that
goes into his work. He is an undisputed card mechanic with plenty of skills on
display, or rather not on display if you get my meaning. Impossible climaxes
build from very small and almost 'throw away' beginnings to astound the audience
or rather 'guests' as he likes to refer to them.
There is nothing 'standard' about his effects, certainly in the sense that you
will see lots of other magicians performing them. This said, he has taken a
number of 'classics' and pushed them in an entirely new direction and in some
cases they become barely recognisable. 'Ring vanish to impossible location' or
'Bill switch' do not adequately describe the effects that his audience will see
although their genesis does lie here.
The first thing the strikes you is the pace of the delivery, slow, almost
haphazard but imperceptibly building on a mastery of misdirection to the point
that the re-telling of what the audience saw can only be described in ever
growing terms of impossibility. The next difference is the lengths he will go to
in achieving the desired effects. The lecture described an incredible amount of
fine detail in the planning and preparation and he has developed some brilliant
devices, some physical, some temporal, to allow the 'dirty work' to be achieved.
Lastly is the 'layering' that underpins his presentation. Nothing is left to
chance, almost! For those that have seen him, you will know what I mean. You
have to admire his tenacity in not sacrificing the strength of an effect just to
make it easier to perform.
He's also very funny, self deprecating with an easy manner when handling the
audience, but if anything, this lecture was an object lesson in artistic
fervour. Indeed, Jan openly credits his 'Artistic Director' as fundamental to
his success and I think it says a lot about the majority of magicians do not see
the relevance of seeking the advice of an impartial critic who understands the
theatrical aspects of presentation. Some observers might say his approach is
'ballsy' or 'gutsy' but I think they are overlooking the level of effort and
risk mitigation employed in producing an absolute stunner of an effect. Yes, the
methods can seem to be 'ballsy' but he relies on misdirection and clever
verbalisation to guide the audience away from the methods or to reinforce the
impossibility and at the end of it, the effort he puts into the planning and the
finely scripted presentation are a small price to pay for the unbelievable
strength of the effects as they play out.
Even in a room full of magicians there were more than a few gasps of surprise.
It would be easy to list out the effects we saw on the night but I think it is
better to let those who have yet to see him, enjoy the full power of the
experience. If you haven't seen him, go and seek him out, you will learn a lot
more than 'tricks'. Another feather in the Fylde Mystics cap.
© Allan Clarke MMC, June 2013