Tragic Magic

On his website, Peter Callesen explains:

"Most recent I have started to make white paper cuts/sculptures inspired by fairytales and romanticism exploring the relationship between two and three dimensionality, between image and reality. I find the materialization of a flat piece of paper into a 3D form as an almost magic process - or maybe one could call it obvious magic, because the process is obvious and the figures still stick to their origin, without the possibility of escaping. In that sense there is as well an aspect of something tragic in most of the cuts."

Obvious magic. Somewhat tragic magic. These are deeply playworthy concepts. And are found everywhere in Mr. Callesen's art - from paper structures to paper performances.

It makes me muse thus:

Magic, for it to be magic at all, has to be obviously magic. We know it's going to be a trick. The art of the magician is to fool us anyway. It's fun knowing that it's going to be a trick, and then getting tricked. Otherwise, we get angry or religious about it.

Somewhat tragic, because magic can not be real. Only the magician is real. Only the trick. Only our willingness to be surprised. Only the fun.

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