The Man Behind the Magic
By KATI KRAUSE

(WSJ: November 6, 2009) When the Portuguese magician Luis de Matos made an elephant and a Ferrari disappear in front of 12,000 people in a Lisbon sports stadium for the Expo '98, when the Spaniard Mag Lari cut a person in eight pieces in his 2007 show Secrets, and when a magical chest spat fire, smoke and objects during a recent production at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Carles Ferrandiz was never far away.

He might shy away from the limelight, but Mr. Ferrandiz's invisible hand is behind some of the most spectacular magic tricks performed in Spain and the rest of Europe over the past 40 years. Together with his team of six, the owner of the Mágicus magic shop in Barcelona manufactures devices for magicians and theater productions, invents magic tricks and makes objects and people disappear upon request.

Photo by Joan Villaplana
Carles Ferrandiz in his workshop, in front of one of his magical devices.

Mr. Ferrandiz is the son of Spanish magician José María Ferrandiz, and as a young man he was disenchanted with magic for the disruptive effect it had on their family. He decided to become a mechanical engineer -- only to find himself manufacturing pieces for his father's shop. The two formed a partnership, and Mr. Ferrandiz warmed to the subject. Now 61 years old, he has made more things disappear than he can remember.

We met Carles Ferrandiz in his Barcelona office, replete with magical devices, ancient books and diplomas proclaiming him a member of associations like the International Brotherhood of Magicians. His Mágicus shop can be visited at c/Diputació, 274, in Barcelona.

Q: How would you define your job title?
You could call me an artisan of magic or a creator of illusions.

Q: That sounds very artistic.
Yes, but when you do a job for a professional showman the work isn't that artistic anymore. Imagination ends when the show beings.

Q: What do your commissions usually look like?
The most creative work is when a professional comes to me with an idea but doesn't know how to achieve it. That's imagination and invention. It's also more fun and challenging than inventing devices for the shop. Any commission depends on the circumstances -- money, space, the situation on stage. For example, what if the stage is empty? I can do magic but not wonders.

Q: Because if it's empty...?
If there are other people or items, you have more possibilities. I need dancers, music, light, or at least a couple of plants!

Q: So the difficulty of a production doesn't depend on the size of the object?
No, it's about the situation and location. It can be easier to produce a truck full of TV sets in a convention center than one TV set on a football pitch.

Q: What has been your most difficult commission?
That was the presentation of a new Volkswagen Golf convertible in the now-defunct Sala Scala theater in Barcelona, around 1990. We had to make the car vanish and reappear. It was extremely complicated because the theater's layout was really weird. The stage was 30 meters long but very narrow and grew out into the room, which meant there were people sitting around it. The same presentation was then taken to Madrid and I spent a month adapting it to the different stage.

Q: How much do you charge to make a car vanish?
About €20,000.

Q: Do you go to see the shows where your devices are being used?
Of course, I try to go as often as possible. I find it interesting. And I learn: sometimes artists, when they rehearse with the device, change things. That gives me great satisfaction. People often ask me whether a magician can still impress me, since I know all the tricks. I reply that if the show is good, I'm impressed. On the other hand, when I see a bad show, I suffer.

Q: Do you think that magic is an art form in decline?

Absolutely not. What has changed is the way of performing magic. There are fewer shows, but the problem is not magic: there are fewer shows in general. There is hardly any varieté left. I don't think it's a lack of interest; it has to do with an interpretation, taken by the authorities, of what is culture and what isn't. I think juggling is as much culture as the recital of poems -- if it is done well. Culture doesn't always have to be sublime and deep.

Q: Do you think there are cultural differences in the world regarding magic?
I think that people all over the world enjoy seeing a good show. However, the less knowledgeable they are, the more magical the show becomes. I've got old books on magic here that teach ways of doing tricks that would be impossible today. Nobody would buy it.

Q: So increased knowledge has made magic look less magical?
Yes, but it has also led magicians to put in more effort. Of course it has lost something wonderful: the innocence. But I think that before, magicians didn't use to be artists -- they were simply people performing tricks that no one else knew. Today's great magicians are first and foremost artists.