The Media Magician
Andreas Axmann
A digital pioneer
Andreas Axmann is a professional entertainer and as such has won several international awards. For over 30 years, he has been providing a performance that is guaranteed to go down well. With the invention of the iPad, Andreas Axmann was the first German to perform magic on stage with it. The topics of digitalization and artificial intelligence have always interested him in his private life.
Unusual, inexplicable, unforgettable!
Vita
Andreas Axmann was born in the Bavarian Forest in 1985. It all started in the classic way: with the obligatory magic box for Christmas, which an aunt gave him. Fortunately, there was a magic store nearby that offered materials and courses for the next generation. At the age of 7, he performed on a big stage for the first time. Further support came from the German magic club “Magischer Zirkel”, which accepted him in 2002. So it was obvious that he would soon be presenting his skills in public. This was followed by several international awards and engagements on television and at corporate events. Andreas Axmann came to Berlin in 2004 to begin his studies in theater and event technology, which he completed in 2008 with a diploma thesis on the subject of “magic theater”. Since then, magic has been his main profession. In 2010, Andreas Axmann became the first German iPad magician to specialize in the field of “digital magic”.
In 2011, the media magician was runner-up in the German “Magic with Performance” category and took part in the World Magic Championships. He was also invited to perform his iPad magic in Las Vegas for the first time that year. Andreas Axmann celebrated his 20th anniversary on stage in 2012. Since 2014, he has been entertaining participants at conferences and congresses on the subject of digitalization with his unique “show-lecture” concept. In 2019, he added the topic of artificial intelligence, which completely changed the nature of his magic once again. In his online show from 2020, Andreas Axmann created a new segment by combining his digital effects with live virtual video tricks. Since 2022, he has dedicated himself to the digital specialty of “human-machine interaction” and performs magic with a real robot on the subject of artificial intelligence. In 2024, he added effects and content on the pioneering topic of extended reality glasses.
New generation – iMagic
Press portrait
This tablet is probably one of the most influential computers of all time. Our children are growing up with it as a matter of course. It’s not even that old, yet it already determines the everyday behavior of many people. Steve Jobs presented the first generation iPad in San Francisco in 2010. Even before it came onto the market in Germany, Andreas Axmann was fascinated by the iPad. As soon as it was feasible, he also placed his order. In May 2010, the time had come – Germany and Andreas Axmann got their hands on the much sought-after tablet – the iPad.
And when a real magician gets his hands on such a device, ideas immediately start to spark.
He was given a magic box at the age of 6. Since then, Andreas has regularly enchanted those around him. At 30, he is one of the “digital natives” (the name given to the generation that grew up with digital technologies such as the internet, cell phones, etc.). We, the digital immigrants, first have to get to grips with these technologies as adults.
This means that using the latest technology is nothing unusual and is a matter of course for Andreas. “The first gigs with the iPad were strange,” he says. “The audience was so quiet, I wondered what was going on? Until I figured it out. It was amazement – you just don’t hear that. People were amazed because they could no longer tell what was real and what was programmed – as if by magic, everything merged.”
You would think that the digital age would bring forth a new generation of magicians. But the fact is, there are still only a handful of people in the world who use the iPad. Andreas conjures objects out of the display, lets water run out, can put things in or take them out and much more. Here you can see the fun he has with this technology and the gigantic possibilities.
Andreas tells me that he stands in front of the mirror and tries out effects until they work. There are tricks that require several months of work before they are perfected. “For a digital spoon trick like this, it takes a lot of spoons to try it out. Or sometimes I throw different decorative eggs into my iPad for so long to find the right one (laughs).” Of course I want to know how he comes up with so many ideas. “As a magician, I do nothing else on stage but present reality in a creative way. I tinker around and write down ideas until I find something that looks like a magic effect.” You have to be very playful and enjoy tinkering to do this job. Andreas, the iPad magician, seems to be doing his own thing and I think he’s pretty original. You can see the fusion of reality and technology very clearly in the videos.
He has traveled extensively and has worked in Las Vegas, China and on cruise ships. Large corporations and medium-sized companies hire him. They often announce him as a speaker on the topic of “digitalization” and the surprise effect could not be greater when the lecture gradually turns out to be entertainment.
Andreas lives right next door to the Renaissance Theater in Berlin and is inspired by his surroundings every day. A degree in “theater technology” brought him here 20 years ago. He is originally from Bavaria, but you can quickly tell that he loves Berlin.
Anita Tusch from “CLIQUE, the magazine for the south of Berlin”
Awards