This week, Jared Bowen brings us the magic of “The Conjurors’ Club” and discusses “The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design” at the Worcester Art Museum.
“The Conjurors’ Club,” presented virtually by American Repertory Theater through April 11
A world of magic is just a click away with American Repertory Theater’s online presentation of “The Conjurors’ Club.” Created by magicians Vinny DePonto and Geoff Kanick, “The Conjurors’ Club” is a live experience that features multiple magicians and gets audiences in on the action. Virtual boundaries are broken as each magician brings unique and interactive illusions to the fore. In addition to the show, audiences who purchase tickets in advance are also sent a mystery package of items, formalizing their entry into this secret society.
“Something Vinny and I both try to do is to look around, outside of the world of magic, to find things that are magical without necessarily being magic tricks,” says magician and co-founder Geoff Kanick. “Then we try to bring those things back into the club, back into the experience.”
“The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design,” on view at the Worcester Art Museum through May 2
Discover the history of the kimono at the Worcester Art Museum. “The Kimono in Print: 300 Years of Japanese Design” explores the influence of kimono design in prints and paintings dating back centuries to the Edo and Meiji periods. The show features 70 objects from the museum’s vast collection of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and centers around a one-of-a-kind wedding kimono by Chiso, a centuries-old kimono design house based in Kyoto, Japan. Specially commissioned by WAM, a Chiso designer took his inspiration from Worcester’s seven hills in creating the exclusive kimono.
"It's not only that the kimono was inspired by the print,” says museum director Matthias Waschek. “The print inspired the kimono.”
Are you a conjuror, or is kimono couture more your thing? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!
