Houdini at the Jewish Museum

Dead for close to 85 years, Harry Houdini nevertheless continues to pull in the crowds. To see just how fascinating a figure he remains, try elbowing your way into the Jewish Museum's excellent exhibition, Houdini: Art and Magic, on view through March. 


On display are posters, artifacts, travel diaries, photos, replicas of his equipment, and video footage, including a short movie in which he escapes from a straitjacket while hanging upside down. Born to a rabbi in Hungary, Houdini began performing tricks while growing up in Wisconsin. Legend has it that he learned to pick locks because his mom would seal away his beloved sweet treats.


There's also a selection of work by contemporary artists responding to the master magician's legacy. Especially creepy is Cremaster 5: The Ehrich Weiss Suite (1997), by Matthew Barney, which features seven live Kite Jacobin pigeons defecating and puffing on a coffin made from what appears to be rubber. We'll take the straitjackets.

photo 1: thanks
photo 2: thanks

Comments

Howard said…
my sister lives in appleton, WI, where there's a houdini museum. when i visited her in 2009 we went to the museum, which was simultaneously awesome and boring. love the vintage posters, though: http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-bomb/3766988957/
Yeah, those posters are great, though we never did figure out who that Hulk-like monster guy was supposed to be.

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