Houdini: Art and Magic is the first major art exhibition focused around American magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, relating to the public his life and the cultural influence he has left behind.

Originally organized by the Jewish Museum in New York, the exhibit has been on display at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco since October.

Born Erik Weisz, he was one of seven children born to a Hungarian rabbi in 1874 and moved with his family to the United States at an early age.  While Houdini was intended to follow in the footsteps of his father, he made it very evident early on that he wanted to pursue in a different direction in life.

Houdini was called the “World-Famous Jailbreaker” and the “Handcuff King” by some admirers.  A series of well-preserved photographs and films shows him pulling off magic tricks and escape routines that may otherwise be considered impossible.

The exhibit also displays authentic items from some of his more daring tricks; including the milk can from his milk can trick and the metamorphosis trunk from a trick he would do with his wife and assistant, Bess Rahner.

There is also a glass case on display containing needles for the “East Indian Needle Trick,” where Houdini would swallow followed by a long strand of thread and would eventually pull it out of his mouth with all the needles hanging off of the thread.

It wasn’t just crazy, life-threatening stunts that Houdini was known for.  While many celebrities in today’s culture also do a lot of self-promoting and have writing credits to their names, Houdini was the first one to do so.

He had written several books discussing issues in the field of magic, including “A Magician Among the Spirits,” which reveals the fraud tactics used by spiritualists to trick mourning people into believing they were communicating with the dead.

As for being a skilled promoter, when it came to large public tricks, he would make sure he’d have the filmmakers at different angles to capture his every move.  He’d also go as far as hanging off of newspaper buildings to get press, such as when he hung off of the Hearst Building in San Francisco in 1923.  Some of the posters promoting his shows along with the movies he was in were also on display at the exhibit.

It wasn’t just artifacts of Houdini that were on display.  There were also several pieces of artwork done by some of his prominent fans that visualized his legacy even more; such as sketches, photos reiterating his tricks and even a piece called “Materialization” that used holographic imagery to give off the illusion of a pair of hands coming out of a milk can, just to name a few.

Since its opening, the exhibit – which will remain on display until Jan. 16 – has been a hit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.