Our last seminar at Princeton was a big success. George Bisacca, a Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was the featured guest. He dazzled the group with his stories about restoring priceless works of art, and what he had learned during his years of apprenticeship in Italy.
George Bisacca
We were so lucky with the weather this Earth Day weekend. I performed at a lovely private event at an estate in Rhinebeck during the day, and then drove to Beacon to see my friend Bo Gehring, an inventor/artist who does amazing things with sound waves.
Bo Gehring with self-portrait (L) in his studio (R)
Thanks to the David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Fund, the Humanities Council at Princeton University is sponsoring a faculty seminar on Magic, Perception, and Decisions that will explore magic and deception as they affect art, science, law, politics and other arenas of human life. Eldar Shafir, the William Stewart Tod Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, is co-convener of the seminar, along with yours truly. Over four dinner sessions, we are discussing the nature and role of “magic” in human affairs.
Last night, our first invited speaker was Micah Lasher, Mayor Bloomberg’s man in Albany… and a published magician.
It was a pleasure and an honor to perform and stay at the beautiful and historic Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, last week. The venue was more than spectacular: the party was in the gorgeous Gold Room. This famous hotel is modeled on the Villa Medici in Rome, and the guest register reads like a who’s who of the 20th century. The level of craftsmanship that went into creating this place has to be seen to be believed!
It’s Old Masters Week in New York. That means lots of parties at galleries around town. Otto Naumann, who specializes in European paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries, invited friends and associates to his gallery for a wine and pizza party, featuring some magic for his guests.
Yes, that portrait of a man with a beret is a real Rembrandt. Art dealer Jan Six XI, a direct descendant of Rembrandt’s famous sitter Jan Six I, explained that the thumb jauntily tucked into the man’s sash would have been quite an outrageous posture back in the day. The efficiency of Rembrandt is breath-taking. He could convey so much with a few brush strokes.
Portrait of a Man with Arms Akimbo
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1658)
Art dealer Gerald Stiebel wrote up the party on his blog, and included a photo of U.S. Ambassador and Secretary of the Navy William Middendorf sketching me from the sofa while I performed.
The Calder Foundation has asked me to help them with an upcoming project. In October of 1930, artist Alexander Calder visited Piet Mondrian’s studio in Paris. This was the moment when he embraced the abstract, first in painting and then in motorized and non-motorized moving sculpture. In February we are putting together a special event in the Netherlands commemorating this historic visit. While in Texel, I heard about a recreation of Mondrian’s studio in Amersfoort, so last week I went to check it out and also visited the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague to see the work of Mondrian and Calder.
[click to enlarge]
I am winding down with my in-laws in the Dunes of Texel National Park in the Netherlands, after a very busy holiday season. This magnificent area is called ‘De Slufter’. It is an opening in the dunes that fills up with seawater at high tide. There is no greater pleasure than waking up at the crack of dawn with jet-lag, and hiking in a beautiful place like this as the sun is rising.
Last night I had the pleasure of doing a show at the holiday party of a French bank here in New York. They had me do their party a few years ago as well, and they are a wonderful group. Here we are having fun together…
Merci beaucoup for bringing me back this year, and Joyeux Noël!
