Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present

Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present is an unusual, non-fiction film examining the pioneering life and works of the artist, musician, filmmaker and educator. Tony Conrad is one the great American artists of our time, yet to the world at large he remains criminally under-appreciated. Since the early 1960s, his films and compositions have been the stuff of legend for artists and musicians everywhere. His vast, inter-disciplinary repertoire has single-handedly created and influenced major film and compositional movements. He performed in and recorded the soundtrack to Jack Smith’s legendary Flaming Creatures; he turned the paradigm of representational cinema upside down with The Flicker; his development and practice of just intonation and minimalism through his work with Stockhausen and La Monte Young still has the music establishment scratching their heads; his pivotal role in the formation of The Velvet Underground has directly or indirectly influenced everyone who has picked up a guitar since; as an early adopter of activist public access television he democratized the emerging medium of portable video. As an educator and collaborator he has inspired many artists working today.

“JOYOUS, EXHILARATING, AND TRANSFORMATIVE, Tyler Hubby’s documentary Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present is essential viewing for anyone involved in the history of music and visual art.” – Amy Taubin / Artforum