Hallwalls proudly presents “Pioneer of the Minimal: Tony Conrad Retrospective,” three evenings featuring experimental music, film and video Oct. 25-27th at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave., in Buffalo NY.
A leading figure in late 20th Century art and a major influence on the work of conceptual artists, UB Professor of Media Study Tony Conrad’s impact on independent and media arts is as hard to measure as his influence on experimental music. A celebration of over three decades of Conrad’s work will take place this week at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in downtown Buffalo, October 25th-27th. Funded in part by the New York State Council for the Humanities, this major retrospective presents Conrad’s work within new contexts that emphasize its scholarly and cultural ramifications. Columbia University Associate Professor Branden Joseph, a scholar of contemporary and performance art practices, will be on hand Friday evening to present a lecture on Conrad’s work and to engage in a public discussion with Conrad about performance and minimalism.
SCHEDULE:
Wednesday October 25 at 8 pm
Tony Conrad Music performance
Asbury Hall in The Church – 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY
For this performance in Asbury Hall, Tony Conrad will perform with an ensemble. $15 general /$10 students/seniors/members
Thursday October 26 at 8pm
Tony Conrad’s Videos/Film
($7 general, $5 students/seniors, $4 members)
featuring:
No Europe (1990, 14 min), made in collaboration with Chris Hill
Beholden to Victory (1983, 26 min.), featuring Mike Kelley and Tony Oursler.
Writes Kelley: “BEHOLDEN TO VICTORY is an edited video version of the full-length super-8 film Hail the Fallen. It is a ‘war movie’ genre picture… The film was not directed in the traditional sense. There was no script. The actors were required to play as in a game – to follow certain rules, or to be more precise, to follow certain restrictions. They were told only what they were NOT ALLOWED TO DO. Thus the film consists of a series of scenes, of examples of correct behavior.”
Studio of the Streets (20 min. excerpt), from the activist cable access show, starring the people of Buffalo.
Coming Attractions (1970, 77 min), made in collaboration with Beverly Grant Conrad, this is Conrad’s rarely screened feature film. The work “looks backward moment into the memories and forward into the future of Francis Francine (who first appeared in Flaming Creatures), an elegantly dowdy transvestite of, and indeed beyond, a certain age. The memories, haunted by a Spirit of Seductions Past suggest a generally lurid life of sumptuous sex and questionable liaisons.” – Filmmakers Cooperative
Friday October 27 at 8 pm
Tony Conrad’s Films/Video–to be followed by a lecture/discussion with Tony Conrad and Branden Joseph
($7 general, $5 students/seniors, $4 members)
featuring:
The Flicker (1966, 30 min), Conrad’s seminal experimental film, exploits the strobing effect of the cinematic image. Considered a cornerstone of structural filmmaking.
Straight and Narrow (1970, 10 min), made with Beverly Conrad, sound by Terry Riley and John Cale. An extension of the flicker film phenomenon. “Straight and Narrow is a study in subjective color and visual rhythm… (it) uses the flicker phenomenon not as an end in itself, but as an effectuator of other related phenomena.” Filmmakers Cooperative
Film Feedback (1972, 14 min), an effort to display the “essential” property of video ie: feedback, in terms of film. “Made with a film-feedback team which I directed at Antioch College. Negative image is shot from a small rear-projection screen, the film comes out of the camera continuously (in the dark room) and is immediately processed, dried, and projected on the screen by the team. What are the qualities of film that may be made visible through feedback?” – Tony Conrad
Cycles of 3s and 7s (1977, 12 min.), a “story: about numbers, the kind machines should like to hear and tell, if they liked.” – Tony Conrad
A presentation about Conrad’s Flicker films by Branden Joseph, Associate Professor, Columbia University and a conversation with Tony Conrad about his work will follow the screening.
This program has been made possible in part by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication and program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
HALLWALLS
Contemporary Arts Center
341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo NY 14202