Experimental artist Tony Conrad dies

Avant-garde musician and filmmaker Tony Conrad has died, aged 76.
The experimental artist, who was battling prostate cancer, died in New York on Saturday (09Apr16) due to pneumonia.
He had been hospitalised with the lung infection in late March (16), which prompted him to pull out of plans to perform his 1972 collaborative album, Outside the Dream Syndicate, with Faust at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee.
At the time, his representatives released a statement which read: “For several years Tony Conrad has been fighting prostate cancer, all the while continuing to perform at the top of his abilities. Tony was unexpectedly hospitalized last week with pneumonia, and this has made it impossible for him to travel to and perform at the Big Ears Festival – doing so would be a potentially life-threatening prospect.”
Conrad began his career in entertainment after moving to New York in the 1960s, when he became engaged in the underground music scene. He was a member of the Dream Syndicate, also known as the Theater of Eternal Music, and then formed the short-lived band the Primitives with John Cale and Lou Reed, who went on to set up The Velvet Underground, choosing their name from the Michael Leigh book they had seen at Conrad’s Manhattan apartment.
He was also known for his filmmaking, which he launched with The Flicker in 1966.
Conrad later worked as a teacher at the University at Buffalo, where he served in the media department for decades until his recent retirement. His career was due to be celebrated at a school event on 2 May (16), reports Billboard.com.