What is more glorious than television? video-games? The internet? movies? Real bodies in a really small theater crying real tears. Looking you in the eye when they do it. All the while pretending to be people they are not. The theater is perhaps the most embodied example of the magically real, where you go to … Continue reading Magic that Remembers: Son Of Semele premieres What the Moon Saw or I only appear to be dead
Category: Art and Literature
Voguing the (im)possible: Beauty, sex, and fashion at 80, 90, and 120 in Vogue Magazine’s September 2011 Issue
Most of us talk about longevity, but few of us dare to imagine ourselves as REALLY old. AND fabulous. Living, not in a hospital, but in a hotel. Wearing a thick diamond clasp on one ear as we place our deeply wrinkled countenances in a suggestive side by side with a smooth skinned young man, … Continue reading Voguing the (im)possible: Beauty, sex, and fashion at 80, 90, and 120 in Vogue Magazine’s September 2011 Issue
Heteronyms unite! A review of Mania Klepto by an unreal person
Fernando Pessoa, an obscure but beloved poet and intellectual from turn of the century Lisbon, created 72 alternate personalities who wrote and created complex work, had complicated lives, and who were -- of course -- geniuses. The "heteronym" Pessoa explained, was not to be confused with a "pseudonym". While a pseudonym represented simply an alternate … Continue reading Heteronyms unite! A review of Mania Klepto by an unreal person
Weird Figures: a Brief History of Puppets
Puppets are a big deal over here at Magically Real HQ. We like them all: marionettes, hand-puppets, finger puppets, shadow-puppets, oversize-Bunraku puppets, Sesame Street and Crank Yankers, action figures of various descriptions, sock puppets, and even hands remaking themselves in silhouette -- flowing into shadow shapes on illuminated walls. The Encyclopedia Britannica online (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/483732/puppetry) tells … Continue reading Weird Figures: a Brief History of Puppets
X-Men First Class and Sarah’s Key: The Shoah one more time
How best to bear witness to the unthinkable, the horrible, and atrocious, the unforgettable? Art has been asking that question ever since the ILIAD. It is interesting to us at MAGICALLY REAL that the Holocaust continues to pose just such a challenge, despite the many novels written about it, and the scores of films made … Continue reading X-Men First Class and Sarah’s Key: The Shoah one more time
Youtopia? 3 Communities
Question: What do NOLOSE, Comic-Con, and Animal Crossing have in common? Answer: They all propose alternative, utopian spaces where the attendee/player can develop alternate identity(ies), meet new people, and obtain a different sense of embodiment. Here’s a rundown. nolose: the revolution just got bigger BUT DON’T CALL US A UTOPIA (YET) Boasting a Facebook page … Continue reading Youtopia? 3 Communities
Magically Real explains the Harry Potter craze, part 2 — sources
Dear Magically Real: I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 yesterday, and it was pretty good. I liked how they freed the dragon and I like Neville’s speech to the bad guys, But, as one of your commentators said in a previous post -- this story sure REMINDS me of a lot … Continue reading Magically Real explains the Harry Potter craze, part 2 — sources
Magically Real explains the Harry Potter craze
Dear Magically Real: Everyone including my sister in Kansas and my uncle in Dubai awaits the final movie installment of the Harry Potter series with hysterical anticipation, bordering on frenzy. Frankly, I don’t get it. Could you please clue me in as to what this JK Rowling phenom is about? Very truly yours-- Committed to … Continue reading Magically Real explains the Harry Potter craze
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIDA KAHLO!
When I was a little girl, I went to the Museum of Modern Art and saw scary strange paintings. A huge green face looked at a creepy cow, and figures screamed breasts as they hung out of dresses. I hid my eyes. Then I opened them. Who’s THAT? I said. The Lady with the Monkey? … Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIDA KAHLO!
2 Germans: MOMA’s German Expressionist Exhibition and Idee German
Dear friends of the unreal! Submitted for your consideration : Art that is public official and institutionally validated. Art that is private, personal, and unauthorized. Seen: In its “new and improved” supersized incarnation MOMA presents the historical trajectory of German Expressionism in 3 enormous galleries – taking us from the beginning of the 20th Century … Continue reading 2 Germans: MOMA’s German Expressionist Exhibition and Idee German
Stephanie Barbé Hammer Writing (Un) Real 