Why do magicians flourish?
If that were the case, it appears unclear as to why magicians would perform elaborate flourishes in the first place. One theory is that it makes the magician feel a little bit special. A spectator can appreciate the skills of a guitarist or painter as they can see exactly how these artists created their art. Magic, unlike any other art form, hides the method so the audience therefore cannot fully appreciate the skills involved in creating that art. Because of this, performing flourishes may satisfy a performers need to feel appreciated for their skill set.
However, magic is not about making the magician feel important, its about making the spectator feel important. Whilst a spectator may appreciate the skill involved flourishing, its often all too easy to appear to the spectator as a "show off" which can a very unlikable character trait. Magic on the other hand should appear selfless and skill-less. Showing off is a bit like masturbation: nobody wants to see you do it in public.
Creating the illusion of the impossible
Magic is an entertainment art where you create the illusion of the impossible. In order to create an illusion of anything impossible, you need to eliminate the possible methods in the spectators mind so that the spectator can come to the conclusion that what they saw had no possible method. Great magic is when in the minds of the audience there is no possible method. Your trick should appear to the audience that you have no skill whatsoever but yet magic just happens.
This is where flourishing has its major conflict with magic. If you show a great deal of physical dexterity, you essentially give your audience a possible method. This method essentially is that your hands are too fast for their eyes and therefore you must have done something very quickly that they missed. This may not be the method that you actually used but if a spectator believes they know how a trick was done, regardless if it is the real explanation or not, the impact of the magical effect is weakened.
To flourish or not to flourish?
Learning flourishes can be a very rewarding pastime for many magicians. Some may even enjoy card flourishing more than magic. However, because flourishing destroys the mystery of how a magician achieved a magic effect, the two arts directly oppose one another. One weakens the other. If you intend to do flourishes with magic, they probably should be limited to minor appearances of cards or very small displays of finesse. If you intend to go down the flourishing route more seriously, you are probably best to put magic in the background.
Yours Magically
Solomon
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