Street artist and photomuralist JR owes magician David Blaine, big time. Were it not for the magician stepping in and performing a trick on an NYPD officer, JR might have ended up with a fine, or worse. As the artist related in an Instagram post, he and Blaine were out for a joyride this morning—the magician on his motorcycle, the French artist on his mobylette—when they were pulled over by the police.

“Early morning riding the city with @davidblaine become another story…we got pulled over and got the cops guess anyword and he turned the plate upside down and it was the word she was thinking…. #NewYorkMagic”
Photo: JR/Instagram.

As JR tells it, Blaine didn’t panic, and instead asked one of the officers to think of a word. After she had chosen her word, Blaine turned the license plate on his motorcycle upside down, and it spelled the exact word she had thought of!

Though this feat of street magic was not chronicled on Blaine’s Instagram account, his recent posts show he has visited JR’s ongoing “Unframed Project” on Ellis Island. The renowned magician is no stranger to the art world; in July he attended a pre-prison bash for dealer Helly Nahmad.