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Hyperallergic

Hyperallergic

Sensitive to Art & its Discontents

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Harry Houdini

Posted inHistory

Harry Houdini and the Great Copyright Escape

by Sarah Rose Sharp June 16, 2021June 16, 2021

Houdini knew that owning a patent for an illusion did little to stop imitators from stealing his thunder — so he employed a bit of legal sleight of hand.

Posted inPerformance

The Original Forger of Magic

by John Yau August 1, 2020November 5, 2020

No one was as successful at impersonation and forgery as William Ellsworth Robinson, nor has anyone failed as spectacularly.

Posted inArt

The Bumbling Robots and Awkward Automatons of Silent Cinema

Avatar photo by Allison Meier December 31, 2015December 31, 2015

The word “robot” first appeared in Czech author Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots).

Posted inArt

A Disappeared Houdini Film Escapes from Obscurity

Avatar photo by Allison Meier February 19, 2015February 20, 2015

The great escape artist Harry Houdini starred in five silent films in the early 20th century, but one considered among his best was long considered lost — until now.

Posted inArt

New York’s Most Unusual Halloween Ritual

Avatar photo by Allison Meier October 31, 2014October 31, 2014

In one of his last great performances, Harry Houdini escaped after 90 minutes from a coffin submerged in the swimming pool of New York’s Shelton Hotel (today the New York Marriott East Side).

Posted inArt

Tricks and Trade of 19th-Century Magic in Houdini’s Digitized Scrapbooks

Avatar photo by Allison Meier March 5, 2014March 6, 2014

Through the recently digitized scrapbooks of Harry Houdini, you can be transported to the world of 19th-century magic, an era of deception and curiosity about the unknown.

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Hyperallergic is a forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking about art in the world today. Founded in 2009, Hyperallergic is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

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