Steve Kurtz was already suffering from one tragedy when he called 911 early in the morning to tell them his wife had suffered a cardiac arrest and died in her sleep. The police arrived and, cranked up on the rhetoric of the "War on Terror," decided Kurtz's art supplies were actually bioterrorism weapons.
Thus began an Orwellian stream of events in which FBI agents abducted Kurtz without charges, sealed off his entire block, and confiscated his computers, manuscripts, art supplies... and even his wife's body.
Like the case of Brandon Mayfield, the Muslim lawyer from Portland imprisoned for two weeks on the flimsiest of false evidence, Kurtz's case amply demonstrates the dangers posed by the USA PATRIOT Act coupled with government-nurtured terrorism hysteria.
Kurtz's case is ongoing, and, on top of everything else, Kurtz is facing a mountain of legal fees. Donations to his legal defense can be made at http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/
FEAR RUN AMOK -------------
Steve Kurtz is Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the State University of New York's University at Buffalo, and a member of the internationally-acclaimed Critical Art Ensemble.
Kurtz's wife, Hope Kurtz, died in her sleep of cardiac arrest in the early morning hours of May 11. Police arrived, became suspicious of Kurtz's art supplies and called the FBI.
Within hours, FBI agents had "detained" Kurtz as a suspected bioterrorist and cordoned off the entire block around his house. (Kurtz walked away the next day on the advice of a lawyer, his "detention" having proved to be illegal.) Over the next few days, dozens of agents in hazmat suits, from a number of law enforcement agencies, sifted through Kurtz's work, analyzing it on-site and impounding computers, manuscripts, books, equipment, and even his wife's body for further analysis. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Health Department condemned his house as a health risk.
Kurtz, a member of the Critical Art Ensemble, makes art which addresses the politics of biotechnology. "Free Range Grains," CAE's latest project, included a mobile DNA extraction laboratory for testing food products for possible transgenic contamination. It was this equipment which triggered the Kafkaesque chain of events.
FBI field and laboratory tests have shown that Kurtz's equipment was not used for any illegal purpose. In fact, it is not even possible to use this equipment for the production or weaponization of dangerous germs. Furthermore, any person in the US may legally obtain and possess such equipment.
"Today, there is no legal way to stop huge corporations from putting genetically altered material in our food," said Defense Fund spokeswoman Carla Mendes. "Yet owning the equipment required to test for the presence of 'Frankenfood' will get you accused of 'terrorism.' You can be illegally detained by shadowy government agents, lose access to your home, work, and belongings, and find that your recently deceased spouse's body has been taken away for 'analysis.'"
Though Kurtz has finally been able to return to his home and recover his wife's body, the FBI has still not returned any of his equipment, computers or manuscripts, nor given any indication of when they will. The case remains open.
HELP URGENTLY NEEDED --------------------
A small fortune has already been spent on lawyers for Kurtz and other Critical Art Ensemble members. A defense fund has been established at http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/ to help defray the legal costs which will continue to mount so long as the investigation continues. Donations go directly to the legal defense of Kurtz and other Critical Art Ensemble members. Should the funds raised exceed the cost of the legal defense, any remaining money will be used to help other artists in need.
For more information on the Critical Art Ensemble, please visit http://www.critical-art.net/
Articles about the case: http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW-2.html http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW.html
On advice of counsel, Steve Kurtz is unable to answer questions regarding his case. Please direct questions or comments to Carla Mendes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Helsinki / Amsterdam, June 4, 2004
Dear friends and colleagues,
We are sure that many of you have been following the deeply worrying events around the subpoenas that have been served to members of the US-based arts collective Critical Art Ensemble. We, Eric Kluitenberg and Amanda McDonald Crowley (with support from a range of colleagues), have taken the initiative to write an open letter of protest asking for an immediate cessation of legal proceedings against our esteemed and distinguished colleagues. We think that this case signals a most worrisome trend in public political life in the United States and cannot be left unaddressed.
We ask all of you who have worked with the Critical Art Ensemble in recent years, and others who feel offended by this unacceptable infringement on artistic freedom, to contact us to sign this letter of protest as members of a deeply concerned professional community.
Please find the letter below. if you wish to sign send either one of us an e-mail stating your name, your profession, your institutional affiliation (if you have one) and possibly a url that best represents your work or professional activity.
Thank you.
Amanda McDonald Crowley [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Eric Kluitenberg [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------------
To whom it may concern,
We, the undersigned artists, curators, critics, cultural producers, theorists and writers who have worked with or followed the work of the collective known as Critical Art Ensemble, are writing to express our serious concern over legal proceedings brought against members of this highly respected artists group.
Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of internationally recognised artists who work within pedagogic frameworks and art contexts to raise awareness of a range of social issues. Most recently their work has been directed towards providing the general public with awareness and understanding of issues to do with biological research. Their work is not alarmist but rather provides knowledge.
CAE's work is always undertaken in a safe and considered way, using materials which are commonly available in scientific education and research practices. Their main motivation is to provide the public with the tools needed to make informed choices.
It has come to our attention that there was a recent seizure of a substantial amount of the artists' work and research material. The international art scene was shocked and surprised to learn that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, following an analysis of the materials by the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State which returned the result that the material seized posed no public safety risk, have continued with their investigation and are now seeking to charge members of the collective under the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act as expanded by the USA Patriot Act.
Whilst it is perhaps understandable in the current international political climate that such research might raise alarm bells with American authorities, it would have also been clear, upon investigation, that the aims of CAE are not a terrorist act, but an awareness raising action undertaken with cultural, artistic and educational agendas. Indeed CAE's work is quite in keeping with mainstream art practices, which have, throughout history, had pedagogical aims.
Having worked with CAE in various settings throughout the world we have found CAE's approach has always been to understand and to know the topic that they are presenting. It comes as no surprise, given the current focus of their work, that the research tools included biological material. However, those of us in the art world who have worked with this artists' group also know that their work is undertaken with thorough research, in continuous consultation with members of the scientific community, in order to ensure that the artworks they produce are safe, but also real, in terms of the investigations they pursue. The work of CAE is internationally recognised as thorough, investigative, educative and safe.
This matter is one that raises serious concerns internationally that the actions of the American government undermine the freedom of artistic expression, a fundamental democratic right, which is one of the cornerstones of the liberal democracies.
As the materials have been tested and been shown to pose no public health threat, we demand that the American Government immediately cease legal action against members of the Critical Art Ensemble collective.
The good reputation of Critical Art Ensemble must be immediately restored.
Yours faithfully,
Amanda McDonald Crowley, cultural worker/ curator, currently executive producer ISEA2004 (International Symposium of Electronic Art 2004), Australia/Finland http://www.isea2004.net
Eric Kluitenberg Head of the Media Program De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics Amsterdam, The Netherlands http://www.debalie.nl
Signatories:
name/profession/position/country/url
------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
