While Tony Conrad's "my personal work feels like an oil slick on this flowing current, spreading in two or three directions at once," quote on the Department of Media Study's Web site might seem a little odd to some, it makes perfect sense to Conrad and his students.
Conrad's words - like his teaching style and his personality - are anything but typical and have a method to their madness; which becomes apparent to anyone who spends enough time with him.
The meaning of the "oil slick" quote on the DMS Web site was revealed when Conrad explained that his work encompasses many forms of media, which blend to create one ultimate piece of work.
"It feels like flowing back and forth," he said. "I'm sliding around between film or video or music, leading into a performance. They all lock together."
It is these distinctive views of film and video that makes Conrad stand out from more ordinary professors.
As he handed back corrected papers in his Video Analysis class, it was clear that Conrad is familiar with his students on a personal level, as he made jokes about their poor attendance or work ethic while snickers filled the room.
"Tony Conrad is one of the most spontaneous professors I have met at UB in the past four years," said Mickey Kong, a senior media study major. "He brings out a different perspective in video to me, which is by far the weirdest experience. He makes this class a pleasure to be in with his awesome attitude."
During the class, Conrad explained the direction that students would be taking in their studies of feminism and the media in a manner that suggested he may have been having many thoughts simultaneously.
Conrad's rapid-fire way of communicating his thoughts seems not to have a negative effect on how his students learn.
"It's not like many other courses I've taken," said Jeff White, a junior engineering major, as he made his way out the door at the end of class. "You see a lot of stuff that you wouldn't otherwise see. The course also contains diverse political views through discussion."
Conrad's relationship with his students was displayed on his walk back to his office when students stopped the professor for brief conversations, or just to say a quick hello. Conrad took a minute to converse with each one in his open friendly way.
Unconventional might be a word used to describe Conrad, whose desk and floor were loaded with papers, books, and tapes - all in disarray - as he muttered to himself.
But a closer look at Conrad suggests that there is more to this professor than his eccentricities.
"I had been making films and living in New York City for a while ... I got to be known as a filmmaker," said Conrad, as he began to talk about his past, and what has lead him to his current position as a UB professor.
Conrad soon became known for his unique visions in film, as well as his early connections with the Velvet Underground, the influential band widely considered to be arguably the forefathers of modern punk music.
Conrad smiled to himself as he recalled that it all began when he and some friends in a group they named "The Primitives" in 1964, tried to promote a "goofy" song entitled "The Ostrich."
Soon after his time in New York, Conrad began his teaching career.
"I was invited to teach film at Albright College in Redding, Pa., for a month, and I enjoyed the contact with new, younger people, animating them in the sense of enabling and supporting what others want to do," said Conrad.
After his brief stint at Albright, Conrad's next stop was Buffalo.
Conrad said he was attracted to Buffalo because he was keen on being in a city that offered room for unconventional behavior, and the Queen City was the perfect fit.
"People here don't bug you if you are a little different," said Conrad.
Settling in Buffalo as a professor in the Department of Media Study, Conrad's distinct vision in film carried over into his teaching style.
Some students said they felt privileged to have experienced Conrad's tutelage.
"Tony Conrad is an excellent and innovative professor who revealed the artistic side of video to me," said Gail Eilat, a junior double major in media studies and communication.
Conrad said in his teaching methods he holds to a simple rule to which most students can relate:
"I try to take into account a kind of sense that complicated things can be simple. That is one important difference of my courses to others."
In addition to teaching film, Conrad said he has other activities that keep him occupied, like playing the amplified Avant-Garde violin and writing his many journal publications.
Though Conrad's easy-going style and open nature suggests someone leading an inherently pleasing life, he said his road to success has not been an easy one. He attributes his accomplishments to the fact that he does not have an aversion to hard work.
"If you want to move to the top, get used to doing things that are hard," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
