Rate My Professor Kurt Ralske

Kurt Ralske serves as Professor of the Practice in Digital Media and Chair of Media Arts at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (SMFA at Tufts). He holds degrees in Computer Science and an MFA in Art Criticism and Writing from the School of Visual Arts in 2012. Ralske's artistic practice encompasses video installations, films, sound art, and performances that utilize technology as a means of research and criticism, enacting a dialogue with history to propose new views of the future. Influenced by Walter Benjamin's writings on history, his projects often explore archives through custom software, generating alternate narratives such as the forgeries of non-existent German Futurist films in Rediscovering German Futurism 1920-1929, presented as stills, videos, lecture performances, and a book co-authored with Miriam Atkin in 2013. Other works include Enraged Average (video, 2012), Faceness (video still, 2013), Universal Shadow (video still, 2017), and digital prints like Failed Narrative and The Damages #4 (2018).

Ralske's work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 2009 Venice Biennale, Guggenheim Bilbao, and Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. He programmed and co-designed a permanent 9-channel video installation in the lobby of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Additionally, he is the author and programmer of Auvi, a video software environment used by artists in 22 countries. His achievements include a Rockefeller Foundation Media Arts Fellowship and First Prize at the 2003 Transmediale International Media Art Festival in Berlin. At SMFA, Ralske teaches Digital Media courses such as Sound and Moving Image, 3D, Virtual Reality, and Art, Truth, and Misinformation, emphasizing critical thinking on technology's implications for art, culture, politics, and economy. He promotes a democratic approach to art-making, helping students develop original ideas, select appropriate media, and sustain creative lives.