David Blaine
My mother was a teacher, and when she wanted to show me art and literature and science, she'd take me to museums, parks and free exhibitions.Collection: Teacher
Whether you're shuffling a deck of cards or holding your breath, magic is pretty simple: It comes down to training, practice, and experimentation, followed up by ridiculous pursuit and relentless perseverance.
In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds.
But as they say about sharks, it's not the ones you see that you have to worry about, it's the ones you don't see.
Basically, I was a kid growing up with a single mother in Brooklyn.
I believe that fear of life brings a greater fear of death.
My only fear is the unknown.
I think that when Evel Knievel crashed over the fountain at Caesar's, it kind of gave you a credibility and then anticipation for everything he did.
People haven't even begun to tap into the potential of what the mind is possible of doing. We only use a certain percentage of our brains.
We are all capable of infinitely more than we believe.
I remember my mother had this deck of cards that her mother had given her and that she passed on to me. It was a gypsy tarot deck that I used to carry everywhere.
I think everything I do is normal, not paranormal but normal. It's using the power of the mind to achieve whatever we can endure.
I was obsessed with the idea of fasting and isolation.
I have not had time to reflect on my own truths in many years.
As a kid, I always was obsessed with Houdini.
I just believe that the feeling of wonder is amazing. I am pushing myself as far as I can humanly push myself... I can only hope for the best and expect the worse.
I'd like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.
I'd always wanted to do these types of things - pieces of magic I could put out not as illusions, but really doing it.
I thought instead of burying myself under dirt, I'd bury myself under water so everybody could see that you're there.
I do a lot of research on what people have done in the past.
I think anybody can do any of these if they train. I don't recommend it, but anybody could do it if there was a need.
I think great whites are the most beautiful and perfect creatures I've ever seen.
I'd go to Coney Island to hang out, and I saw a magician doing a rope trick on the boardwalk. I was fascinated. I guess that's how it started.
It was just like a digital fixation with cards and math and science and then I started to look at images of great magicians from Houdini down the line.
Magic's an art where you use slight of hand or illusion to create wonder. And I was just intrigued with that idea.
My mother encouraged it so much. She was so supportive. Even if as a kid, I would do the dumbest trick, which now that I look back on some things, she would love it, she would say that's amazing, or if I'd make the ugliest drawing, she would hang it up. She was amazing.
I hope people remember me as a guy who brought magic to the people. You know, pushed the boundaries of wonder.
I don't think you can say something is or isn't magic. That's what was cool about Houdini, because he was a magician who had a magic show, but he was also an escape artist, and they kind of, over time, blended together. They both kind of enhance each other, I think.
I remember finding a Houdini book at the library and seeing an image of him chained on the side of a building. He looked so intense and scary, and I couldn't get that image out of my head. That started building up my love of magic.
I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.
Well, I also love magic, which is, you know, different than showmanship. Magic's an art where you use slight of hand or illusion to create wonder.
When I was about 19, I shot a tape of me doing magic just to people on the streets, and I would edit together all the reactions and I kept pushing this idea, and then ABC came on board and made my first show.
As a kid I used to hold my breath longer than anybody else, and then I heard stories about people accidently underwater for 45 minutes - how do you recover from that? It's not a miracle. Something allows us to survive.
I consider myself a showman, and I love magic, and I love art, and I love performance, and they're all separate.
If I asked you to stand in one spot for 35 hours or a certain length of time, you could do it.
I think that, when you die, you go back to where you came from before you were born. So I don't think death is a bad thing.
I think magic, whether I'm holding my breath or shuffling a deck of cards, is pretty simple. It's practice, it's training, and it's - It's practice, it's training and experimenting, while pushing through the pain to be the best that I can be.
You don't get into magic. Magic gets into you.Collection: Magic
As children we believe that anything is possible, the trick is to never forget it.Collection: Children
Magic is not about having a puzzle to solve. It's about creating a moment of awe and astonishment. And that can be a beautiful thing.Collection: Beautiful
We are all capable of infinitely more than we believe. We are stronger and more resourceful than we know, and we can endure much more than we think we can.Collection: Believe
Besides prostitution, magic is one of the oldest art forms that exist.Collection: Art
As a magician, I think everything is possible. And I think if something is done by one person it can be done by others.Collection: Motivation
As a magician, I try to show things to people that seem impossible. And I think magic, whether I'm holding my breath or shuffling a deck of cards, is pretty simple. It's practice, it's training, and It's practice, it's training and experimenting, while pushing through the pain to be the best that I can be. And that's what magic is to me.Collection: Pain
To most magicians, cards themselves are marvels...For one thing, they feel special in your hand. Touching them, holding them, shuffling - the whole process is almost poetic. If you're in a room full of magicians and someone just mentions the word cards, within seconds, everyone is digging into their pockets and pulling out a deck of cards. It's one of the most amazing feelings ever.Collection: Hands
Whether you're shuffling a deck of cards or holding your breath, magic is pretty simple: It comes down to training, practice, and experimentation , followed up by ridiculous pursuit and relentless perseverance.Collection: Perseverance
Michael Jackson did something that no one else in history has managed - he connected with people on every level imaginable, all over the world. He seemed to speak to people at their very core and achieved the impossible. He reached people on a deep emotional level. And that is what any great artist or showman dreams of doing. That is why Michael Jackson was so special to me.Collection: Dream
I think everything I do is normal, not paranormal but normal. Its using the power of the mind to achieve whatever we can endure.Collection: Thinking
I think that when Evel Knievel crashed over the fountain at Caesars, it kind of gave you a credibility and then anticipation for everything he did.Collection: Thinking
I remember finding a Houdini book at the library and seeing an image of him chained on the side of a building. He looked so intense and scary, and I couldnt get that image out of my head. That started building up my love of magic.Collection: Book