Kurt Ralske: "Zero Frames per Second"

August 18 to September 12, 2008

Closing Reception and Artist's Talk: Friday, September 12, 6 to 7pm

MFA Computer Art Gallery

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents "Zero Frames per Second," an exhibition of digital prints, slides, and video by MFA Computer Art Department faculty member Kurt Ralske. The exhibition reflects the artist's engagement with the restructuring of time based media and will be on view from August 18 ­ September 12, at the MFA Computer Art Gallery, 132 West 21st Street, 7th Floor, New York City.

Kurt's large-format prints take a new look at the way we view film by transforming an entire movie using self-programmed custom software. He reinterprets the work of Godard, Kubrick, Murnau and others by presenting each film as a single image. Within these images the cinematic experience is freed from duration, narrative, and signification, producing a visually abstract record of the information from the 150,000 or so frames per film. One set of prints represent only the motion that occurs within a film, while another represents only what was motionless within the film.

Kurt Ralske's video installations, performances, digital prints and software art have been exhibited at the Guggenheim Bilbao, Los Angeles MOCA, and the Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels. He created the 9-channel HD video installation that is permanently in the lobby of the MoMA, in NYC. The New York Times has praised his "compelling, ingenious alliance of sound and motion" and "technical wizardry".

The MFA Computer Art Gallery, located at 132 West 21st Street, 7th Floor between 6th and 7th Avenues, will be open Monday through Friday by appointment 10am to 6pm, and is closed on weekends and public holidays. Admission is free. The gallery is accessible by wheelchair. For further information or to schedule an appointment call 212.592.2532.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.

"Zero Frames per Second" is made possible in part by The Media Arts Fellowships (a program of Tribeca Film Institute, founded and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation) and The Experimental Television Center's Finishing Funds program (supported by the Electronic Media and Film Program at the New York State Council on the Arts).