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Kiko Pastur joins Jonah this week to discuss aesthetic magic, challenging your creativity, and finding symbolism in an effect. Kiko is a magician from A Coruña, Spain, whose style draws on the beauty and wonder of our world.

Growing up, Kiko discovered magic alongside his brother and his brother’s friend. Having grown up in the Northern part of Spain, Kiko’s magic became more inspired by Celtic roots compared to the traditional Spanish culture, resulting in his more poetic, serious approach to magic.

Finding Beauty

Art and entertainment are two different realms for Kiko. To him, entertainment means that the creativity is influenced by the audience, while art sees the creativity being influenced by the artist. Through the use of symbolism, metaphors and music, Kiko is able to explore the concepts of beauty and wonder in his magic.

To add beauty to your magic, you need to refine your aesthetic and find what is beautiful in your life. By refining what you want to show the audience, you can create a world for them to momentarily join you in, to experience the world through your eyes.

If you are looking to add symbolism to your magic, you need to know what you want to tell your audience. What do you want them to take from the performance? In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe the goal of the trick.

Being Vulnerable

Standing in front of a crowd and expressing what you find beautiful in the world is an extremely vulnerable moment. This is why Kiko believes so heavily in creating the proper atmosphere. You need a connection with the spectator for them to be open to the magic and what you’re sharing with them; you are letting them step into your world, so you want them to experience it how you do.

Creating Challenges

If something is too easy, it’s not worth it to Kiko. To him, art is an aesthetic challenge where nothing is ever finished for him – every act and trick will always be incomplete requiring further work.

By imposing challenges and limitations on his creative process, Kiko is able to rethink his approach to problems, forcing him to take a new approach to executing the impossible. However, while most magicians focus on challenging the method, Kiko believes performers also need to challenge the performance, staging and the feelings of your audience.

The Spanish School of Magic

The Spanish School of Magic is broad and difficult to narrow down, says Kiko. It’s not quite clear to him what constitues the Spanish school, but he does believe that the Spanish thinkers are often focused on diving into theory and perfecting every aspect of the magic.

Spanish magicians see it as playing: the logical and rational part of a spectator’s mind is given the chance to react as they join the magician in playing. Approaching magic with this playful attitude, you are not fighting against the spectator’s rationale mind. Where Juan Tamariz invites the audience into his happy world, Kiko invites his audience to indulge in the beauty of the world.

Wrap-Up

What do you like about 2019 magic? What do you hate about 2019 magic?

Kiko likes and dislikes the globalization the internet has brought to magic. While magic has allowed magicians to connect with each other and see a variety of magic, it has also brought with it a wave of people believing they have to get good at magic fast. It takes time to develop and understand a craft.

Take Home Point

Jonah and Kiko both believe that you should play with the idea of beauty in your magic.

Endless Chain

Juan Tamariz

Gabi Pareras

Juan Esteban Varela

Plugs

Kiko’s Website

Kiko’s Instagram

Kiko’s Facebook