Composer and filmmaker Tony Conrad has been a pioneering force in the development of minimalist composition and in the proliferation of underground film. As a way to explore harmonicintricacies of the drone, he introduced, in the 60s, the idea of eternal music by utilizing longdurationperformance, intense amplification, and precise pitch. Together with La Monte Young, John Cale, and Marian Zazeela, he formed the short-lived-yet-seminal improvisational unit of pure minimalism, the Dream Syndicate. He has collaborated with scores of musicians including Faust, Jim O’Rourke, Rhys Chatham, and David Grubbs. He has also produced a large body of avant-garde film and video, including The Flicker, which has long been hailed as a key work of the structural film movement. In addition to his lecture, Conrad will be performing at SFAI for the 12th Activating the Medium Festival, sponsored by San Francisco Cinematheque and 23five Incorporated.
