Photos: Andrea Taylor and Brooke Rosenblatt
From vaudeville-inspired magic to prohibition punch and board games from the 1930s, visitors had a blast at our Suppress the Depression Phillips after 5. For those feeling a bit overwhelmed by the lively atmosphere Valeksa Soares’s Fainitng Couch (2011) offered the perfect place for a moment of rest and restoration.
Visitors experimenting with in-gallery sketching with the help of Elizabeth Graeber's illustrated guide book. Photos: Brooke Rosenblatt
Experimental magician David London performs on stage and in the galleries. Photos: Brooke Rosenblatt
Read Elizabeth Graeber and David London’s thoughts on experimenting at The Phillips Collection.
Magician David London. Photo: Philip Laubner
I was honored when The Phillips Collection asked me to perform as part of the 90th Anniversary-themed Phillips after 5 event this Thursday, November 3. Part of the mission of the Phillips, as set forth by its founder Duncan Phillips nearly a century ago, was to be an “experiment station.” It is in this spirit of experimentation that I was invited to participate.
In both my magic and my life, experimentation has always been a priority. Experimentation demands generating new thoughts, ideas, and possibilities, and believing in them enough to see them into reality. It requires taking risks and being prepared to succeed while remaining willing to fail.
I have often been classified as an “experimental magician.” Experimental is a strange classification. Although I believe that all traits associated with the label are ultimately positive, sometimes fear emerges from the fact that instilled in all experimental ideas and actions is the inherent refusal to accept what is already known or be satisfied with what has been done in the past.
Our cultural evolution as a species can be tied directly to experimentation and the revolutionary ideas and progress it spawned. But experimentation is not limited to artists, scientists, philosophers, and innovators. It is part of daily life, as we each regularly seek the new, test it out, and see what happens. To some degree, experimentation and life itself are synonymous.
On Thursday evening, I will present “Wandering Wonders” throughout the museum, as well as a 45 minute show in the auditorium at 7 pm. I hope we can embrace this opportunity to be reminded that experimentation is all around us, and that we are all experimenters, constantly playing, testing, and trying new possibilities to form our own realities. And what greater cause for celebration than that?
David London, magician
