Please join us on the superstitious evening of Friday, September 13th for a Spooky Soirée with Talismans and Magic in The Back Salon!
“Triskaidekaphobia" extreme superstition regarding the number 13
WHO: Gold Bug Gallery, Erica Molinari Jewelry & Mentalist Mark Gibson
WHAT: A Party! Featuring a Trunk Show of Erica Molinari fine jewelry and performances of magic in the back salon by Mark Gibson.
WHERE: Gold Bug Gallery and The Back Room Salon at Gold Bug / 38 E Holly Street, Pasadena
Featured that evening, a Trunk Show with Erica Molinari, a contemporary designer based in New York making fine jewelry inspired by Gothic, Medieval and Victorian styles. Her collections of gold, silver and painted enamel charms are rich in symbol and poetry, unique and personal, made to be worn and cherished for years to come.
In the back salon, mentalist Mark Gibson will perform a series of intimate shows, exposing the cracks in reality with good luck charms, totems, and enchanted objects. Appearing on shows like "The Tonight Show" and captivating audiences of thousands around the globe on luxury cruise liners, Gibson is very quickly becoming one of the most sought after Mentalists of our time. He is continuously redefining the art of mind reading and is one of the leading figures in the world of Mentalism today.
ERICA MOLINARI
Featured that evening, a visiting collection of jewelry by Erica Molinari edited to focus on charms and tokens. Beginning on this evening, and running through the weekend, hundreds of charms in an array of different sizes and materials will be available as part of the Trunk Show. Tokens adorned with images of animals and trees, skulls and crosses, lucky symbols and poetry, created to spark personal memories and to be worn and cherished for years to come. Erica Molinari is a contemporary designer based in New York making fine jewelry inspired by Gothic, Medieval and Victorian styles. Her collections of gold, silver and painted enamel pieces are unique and intended to be worn every day.
MARK GIBSON
For the first time ever in the Back Salon, which opens on this evening, mentalist Mark Gibson will perform a series of intimate shows for free. He will expose the cracks that exist in our reality by working with personal objects and good luck charms from the audience. Appearing on shows like "The Tonight Show" and captivating audiences of thousands around the globe on luxury cruise liners, Mark Gibson is very quickly becoming one of the most sought after Mentalists of our time. He is continuously redefining the art of mind reading and is one of the leading figures in the world of Mentalism today. .........................................................................................................................
According to surveys, more than 50% of people say they are at least a little superstitious. Lady Luck, black cats, knocking on wood, rabbits feet, pennies, ladders and broken mirrors serve as lucky and unlucky reminders of just how prevalent superstitions are in our every day lives.
In 2012, psychologist Stuart Vyse conducted tests monitoring a series of memory tasks given to a group of superstitious individuals who were known to carry good luck charms. Half of the subjects were allowed to keep their good luck token, while the others had theirs taken away. Turns out, the individuals allowed to keep their good luck charms during the test did measurably better than those that did not. Vyse concluded that lucky charms are confidence boosters and that way REALLY DO WORK. He says that superstition is actually pretty pragmatic, either trying to bring on good luck or avoid bad luck.
There may not be any magic in that particular pair of lucky underwear, but there IS psychological value that makes you feel and act differently by having them on during those important meetings.
"...originally, the idea of 13 comes from the last supper and 13 people at a table. And of course, Jesus was betrayed and so 13 people at a table was thought to be an unlucky thing, or groups of 13 people. And that was a superstition for quite a while. And then at some point really fairly late in the 19th century, 13 got freed from the table and got to be unlucky in and of itself in any context. And then it adhered to Friday because Friday was already an unlucky day. Friday was hangman's day. It was a day that people got hung in much of Europe. And so it comes around every once in a while, once or twice a year, there's a Friday the 13th and so people note it. There was a book and a movie, the movie is now lost to history, but there was an early book and movie that also helped to solidify the Friday, the 13th superstition”.
Read the interview with Vyse as he discusses Friday the 13, superstition and luck here:
https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/superstition
