![]() In 1915, Houdini nearly suffocated during a stunt in which he was shackled and buried under six feet of dirt. ![]() The heart-pounding getaways usually involved a healthy dose of trickery and sleight-of-hand, but they were also fraught with genuine risk. The Hungarian-born escape artist jumped off bridges while handcuffed and wearing leg irons, slithered out of sealed milk cans filled with water, and devised a “Chinese Water Torture Cell” in which he was submerged and suspended upside down by his ankles. He went on to become the most famous escape artist of his day, captivating massive audiences by escaping during stage performances from the glass Chinese Water Torture Cell while suspended upside down and confined by a straightjacket.For over 30 years, Harry Houdini dazzled audiences with his bravura stunts and superhuman endurance. After a stint as a circus performer in the 1890s he become a magician and changed his name as a tribute to the French magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Harry Houdini, who was born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest in 1874, immigrated with his family to rural Appleton, Wisconsin when he was a child. We integrate historic posters, broadsides, photographs, film and Houdini’s magic apparatus with contemporary pieces,” said Brooke Kamin Rapaport, the curator of the exhibit at the Manhattan museum. “The show is an interdisciplinary exhibition. “Houdini: Art and Magic,” which opens on Friday at The Jewish Museum, will feature a recreation of the Chinese Water Torture Cell, which Houdini used to enthrall huge audiences with his daring, death-defying escapes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |