Ian Flinn is both a Washington College student and an accomplished magician who has amazed and entertained audiences across the country. He brings his talent and knowledge of magic to a special performance on Tuesday, March 24, at Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts, on the college campus. The show, which includes audience participation, begins at 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. A post-performance reception will be held in Underwood Lobby.A junior majoring in Clinical Counseling and Psychology, Flinn received a fellowship from the college’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience to research the history and psychology of magic. His findings will be incorporated into his show, which is sponsored by the Starr Center and the Gibson-Wagner Psychology Department Fund. “My interests are in the psychological aspects of magic—not so much the props and the tricks, but what goes on in the mind of the magician and the audience that makes magic work,” Flinn explains. Part of his fellowship has been spent discovering how magic in America evolved from being considered a form of witchcraft to being enjoyed as popular entertainment.Flinn’s first encounter with magic was at the age of 7, when he saw an entertainer at the Philadelphia Airport perform a sleight of hand trick with a floating dollar bill. Entranced, he begged his father to buy the trick for him. Soon he became absorbed in the world of magic, purchasing tricks at magic shops and performing for family and friends. At age 12, he began attending Tannen’s Magic Camp, the world-famous summer session where magician David Blaine and actor Adrien Brody also honed their skills.Flinn spent this past January exploring the Conjuring Arts Research Center, a hidden library in New York City, and has also delved into the magic collection at Washington College’s Miller Library and historical newspaper databases. Under the guidance of George Spilich, the John Toll Professor of Psychology, he undertook research on human subjects, tracking their eye movements as they watched historical footage of magic performances.“Ian’s project is a fascinating one, because it’s really about the history of human perception,” says Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold director of the Starr Center. “He’s studying not just the evolution of what magicians have done, but also how viewers have seen and described it. I think the audience will leave his performance enlightened as well as entertained.” Goodheart is supervising Flinn’s research together with Spilich.
Flinn says he’s not heading to Vegas any time soon, but magic will always be part of his life. “Magic is special,” he says. “In the reality of a messed up world, you can find hope in the simple things. Magic lets you find the possible in the seemingly impossible.”
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