Daniel Conrad
Encyclopedia
Daniel Conrad is an American light artist, painter, sound artist, teacher and writer. His father Arthur Conrad, a portrait painter whose work hangs in the U.S. Senate reception room, worked with Everett Warner during World War II in designing dazzle camouflage for the US Navy. His brother Tony Conrad
is a video artist, filmmaker and musician.
Conrad began his light-work in the late 60s while in the Berkeley area, where he began to create colored light performance instruments derived more from Buddhist thought and minimal art than from the more glib psychedelic
light shows of his milieu. He also performed in Daniel Moore's Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company
and produced an experimental film, "Circles," which explored color afterimage, before relocating to his native Baltimore, where he earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art
.
He has further elaborated his light-work into automated objects and the performance-driven Chromaccord Light Organ, designed as, according to his description, "an instrument designed to manipulate kinetic color to invoke visual responses. It places an area of color (the object) on a background of another color (the surround). The instrument is performed by changing the color areas. [...] By using such an arrangement, the Chromaccord becomes a tool for exploring the visual experience of continually changing sequential and simultaneous contrasts." In particular, the Cromaccord exploits visual phenomena including after-image and retinal fatigue. Conrad has collaborated as a "visual musician" with Jordan de la Sierra, Ian Nagoski and many others.
He is also an inventor of musical instruments, including the Wild Wave (used on record by Ian Nagoski) and veena bambeena, which he plays in free improvisation
contexts.
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
is a video artist, filmmaker and musician.
Conrad began his light-work in the late 60s while in the Berkeley area, where he began to create colored light performance instruments derived more from Buddhist thought and minimal art than from the more glib psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
light shows of his milieu. He also performed in Daniel Moore's Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company
Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company
The Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company was a poetic sacred folk theater group created, written and directed by poet Daniel Moore , who in 1964 published a volume of poetry, Dawn Visions, with Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books of San Francisco...
and produced an experimental film, "Circles," which explored color afterimage, before relocating to his native Baltimore, where he earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
.
He has further elaborated his light-work into automated objects and the performance-driven Chromaccord Light Organ, designed as, according to his description, "an instrument designed to manipulate kinetic color to invoke visual responses. It places an area of color (the object) on a background of another color (the surround). The instrument is performed by changing the color areas. [...] By using such an arrangement, the Chromaccord becomes a tool for exploring the visual experience of continually changing sequential and simultaneous contrasts." In particular, the Cromaccord exploits visual phenomena including after-image and retinal fatigue. Conrad has collaborated as a "visual musician" with Jordan de la Sierra, Ian Nagoski and many others.
He is also an inventor of musical instruments, including the Wild Wave (used on record by Ian Nagoski) and veena bambeena, which he plays in free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
contexts.