Collectibles – Fantasy- Mythical & Magic!

What do you think makes a work of art magical?

I learned about magic realism today, and wasn’t sure I liked the definition of it. I was wondering what you think of when you think of magic art.

“Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value-judgments. Art fulfills this need: by means of a selective re-creation, it concretizes man’s fundamental view of himself and of existence. It tells man, in effect, which aspects of his experience are to be regarded as essential, significant, important. In this sense, art teaches man how to use his consciousness. It conditions or stylizes man’s consciousness by conveying to him a certain way of looking at existence.

“By a selective re-creation, art isolates and integrates those aspects of reality which represent man’s fundamental view of himself and of existence. That power is given to him by art.

“What are the valid forms of art—and why these? . . . The proper forms of art present a selective re-creation of reality in terms needed by man’s cognitive faculty, which includes his entity-perceiving senses, and thus assist the integration of the various elements of a conceptual consciousness.

“The so-called visual arts (painting, sculpture, architecture) produce concrete, perceptually available entities and make them convey an abstract, conceptual meaning.

NOW, HERE COMES THE ANSWER:
“It is a common experience to observe that a particular painting—for example, a still life of apples—makes its subject “more real than it is in reality.” The apples seem brighter and firmer, they seem to possess an almost self-assertive character, a kind of heightened reality which neither their real-life models nor any color photograph can match. Yet if one examines them closely, one sees that no real-life apple ever looked like that. What is it, then, that the artist has done? He has created a visual abstraction.

He has performed the process of concept-formation—of isolating and integrating—but in exclusively visual terms. He has isolated the essential, distinguishing characteristics of apples, and integrated them into a single visual unit. He has brought the conceptual method of functioning to the operations of a single sense organ, the organ of sight.

“The closer an artist comes to a conceptual method of functioning visually, the greater his work. The greatest of all artists, Vermeer, devoted his paintings to a single theme: light itself.”

Condensed by me from Ayn Rand: http://www.aynrandlexicon.com/

That answers the bold faced question, but the rest of your question is different, because you go from “what makes art magical?” to “what makes “magic realism?”

Matthew Strecher has defined magic realism as “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something “too strange to believe.”

That is not what makes art magical. That is not ““more real than it is in reality.” This is absurdity stuck in the middle of “selective re-creation of reality” so that the reality is no longer real, but surreal.

[Trailer 1] Ricky [HD]

Field of Dreams [HD DVD] $1.34 A phenomenal hit when it was released in 1989, Field of Dreams has become a modern classic and a uniquely American slice of cinema. It functions effectively as a moving drama about the power of dreams, a fantasy ode to our national pastime, and a brilliant adaptation of W.P. Kinsella's exquisite baseball novel Shoeless Joe. Kinsella himself found the film a delightful surprise, differing greatly ...

Varieties of Magic Realism $34.48 A Collection of Essays for college courses such as: Magical Realism in Latin America. Spanish-American Fiction: XXth Century; Special Topics: Jorge Luis Borges and Sex and Magic in Latin American Literature. The term magic realism or magical realism has been bruited about with great frequency in the last half of the twentieth century, especially in reference to contemporary Latin American literature, yet it is not always clear exactly what is meant by this designation. In his introduction to this outstanding collection of essays, Dr. Clark Zlotchew attempts to elucidate the meaning and scope of the term by providing a historical overview of it, defining the literary modes often confused with it and offering some current opinions on what a definition of magic realism should or might be. The ten essays that follow present an analysis of works by writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Ricci, Antonio Brailovsky and Enrique Jaramillo Levi, in an attempt to illustrate the manner in which some Latin American authors create their own brand of magic realism.

Magic Realism : 1419600990 $58.95 Magic Realism : 1419600990

Magic Realism Rediscovered, 1918-1981 $86.35 Magic Realism Rediscovered, 1918-1981

The Magic of Reuben and Rachel: Or the Definition of Walking $21.98 The Magic of Reuben and Rachel: Or the Definition of Walking

Magic Realism $38.21 No Synopsis Available

Magic Realism $38.99 No Synopsis Available

Imaginaire II: Magic Realism $25.36 This showcases 50 of the best artists in the field of magic realism, showing the nature and diversity of the style with some 200 images. The most important Guest of Honor is Gil Bruvel from USA with 16 pages of his art. Other artists featured with a few paintings (or sculpture) each, include Claus Brusen, David Bowers, Steven Kenny, Kinuko Craft, Wolfgang Harms, Brigid Marlin, Margaret Bowland, Stephanie Henderson, Bruno Di Maio and others. Beside the artists it will also feature a piece from Jon Beinart, a publisher from downunder also working very hard to get recognition for the art of the imaginative. This is the second volume of an annual gallery collection of magic realism. Text in English and French.

Magic(al) Realism $102.21 The last three decades have seen an increase in popularity of magical realist fiction as a form of narrative, adopted by writers and enjoyed by readers across the globe. At the same time, the term has been open to misuse and has become conflated with related terms such as 'magic' and 'marvellous' realism. In this invaluable student handbook, Maggie Ann Bowersbr*Provides clear definitions and distinctions between the termsbr*Examines their origins in German post-expressionist painting and Latin American fictionbr*Explores the relationship with other art movements, such as surrealismbr*Offers an historical overview of the geographical, cultural and political contexts in which magical realist art, fiction and film have been producedbr*Considers the relationship to issues of postcolonialism, cross-culturalism and postmodernismbr*Illustrates her analysis drawing on examples of the work of eminent writers and artists, including Salman Rushdie, Frida Kahlo, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Angela Carter.brMagic(al) Realism helps the student navigate the complexities of magic, magical and marvellous realism within art and literary criticism, and will be of use to any reader who is confused by the conflation and contradictory usage of these terms.

Magic(al) Realism $20 The last three decades have seen an increase in popularity of magical realist fiction as a form of narrative, adopted by writers and enjoyed by readers across the globe. At the same time, the term has been open to misuse and has become conflated with related terms such as 'magic' and 'marvellous' realism. In this invaluable student handbook, Maggie Ann Bowersbr*Provides clear definitions and distinctions between the termsbr*Examines their origins in German post-expressionist painting and Latin American fictionbr*Explores the relationship with other art movements, such as surrealismbr*Offers an historical overview of the geographical, cultural and political contexts in which magical realist art, fiction and film have been producedbr*Considers the relationship to issues of postcolonialism, cross-culturalism and postmodernismbr*Illustrates her analysis drawing on examples of the work of eminent writers and artists, including Salman Rushdie, Frida Kahlo, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Angela Carter.brMagic(al) Realism helps the student navigate the complexities of magic, magical and marvellous realism within art and literary criticism, and will be of use to any reader who is confused by the conflation and contradictory usage of these terms.

Magic Realism in Cervantes: Don Quixote As Seen Through Tom Sawyer and $75.03 Magic Realism in Cervantes: Don Quixote As Seen Through Tom Sawyer and