Steve Kurtz is an American artist and co-founder of the art collective Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). His work with CAE is considered pioneering in the areas of politically engaged art, interventionist practices, and cultural research and action in the field of biotechnology and ecological struggle. He is also a writer and educator. Kurtz's arrest in 2004 for suspected “bioterrorism” is the subject of a film, ''

Strange Culture ''Strange Culture'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson and starring Tilda Swinton and Thomas Jay Ryan. It premiered on January 22 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. An excerpt appeared in the fourth issue of '' ...

'', by

Lynn Hershman Leeson Lynn Hershman Leeson (née Lynn Lester Hershman; born 1941) is a multimedia American artist and filmmaker. Her work combines art with social commentary, particularly on the relationship between people and technology. Leeson is a pioneer in new med ...

, and served as inspiration for the novel ''

Orfeo Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015. History The Orfeo music label was registered ...

'' by

Richard Powers Richard Powers (born June 18, 1957) is an American novelist whose works explore the effects of modern science and technology. His novel '' The Echo Maker'' won the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction.Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). Since its formation in 1987 in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, CAE has been frequently invited to exhibit and perform projects examining issues surrounding information, communications and bio-technologies by museums and other cultural institutions. These include the Whitney Museum and the New Museum in NYC; the Corcoran Museum in Washington D.C.; the ICA, London; the MCA, Chicago; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the London Museum of Natural History; the Kunsthalle Luzern; and Documenta(13). The collective has written seven books, and its writings have been translated into eighteen languages. Its work has been covered by art journals including ''Artforum'', ''Kunstforum'', and the ''Drama Review''. CAE is the recipient of awards, including the 2007 Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression Grant, the 2004 John Lansdown Award for Multimedia, and the 2004 Leonardo New Horizons Award for Innovation. Kurtz is emeritus professor of art at SUNY Buffalo, and former professor of art at Carnegie Mellon University.

Controversy

Arrest

In May 2004, Kurtz called

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to report the death of his wife, Hope Kurtz, of congenital heart failure. In order to create their art installations, the Kurtzes sometimes worked with biological equipment and had a small home lab and petri dishes containing biological specimens. At the time of Hope Kurtz's death they were working on an exhibit about genetically modified agriculture for the

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ar ...

. Buffalo police deemed these materials suspicious and notified the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, who detained Kurtz for 22 hours without charge on suspicion of "

bioterrorism Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...

." Meanwhile, dozens of federal agents in hazardous material suits raided the Kurtz home, seizing books, computers, manuscripts, and art materials, and removing Hope Kurtz's body from the county coroner for further analysis. Kurtz was allowed to return to his home one week later, after the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State had determined that nothing in the home posed any sort of public or environmental health or safety threat, and that Hope Kurtz had died of natural causes.

Charges

In July 2004, a grand jury refused to bring any bioterrorism charges, but did indict Kurtz on federal criminal

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

charges. Also indicted was Dr. Robert Ferrell, Professor of Genetics at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

Graduate School of Public Health, who served as a scientific consultant on Critical Art Ensemble's projects. The charges concern the way Kurtz and Ferrell allegedly ordered and mailed the non-pathogenic bacteria used in several museum installations. Under the

USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...

the maximum possible sentence for these charges has increased from five to twenty years in prison. The charges related to how Ferrell allegedly helped Kurtz obtain $256 worth of harmless bacteria. "This is the first time in the history of the federal courts that the U.S. Department of Justice is intervening in the alleged breach of a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) of nonhazardous materials in order to redefine it as a criminal offense reads a FAQ for a Kurtz defense fund website. In October 2007, Ferrell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. Ferrell's wife and daughter subsequently issued public statements saying the plea deal was due to the stress of the case and severe illness (Ferrell is a 27-year survivor of

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of hematological malignancy, blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever ...

and suffered a series of strokes following his indictment in 2004). Ferrell was later sentenced to a year of unsupervised release and fined $500. Kurtz has received much of his legal representation from Paul Cambria, a Buffalo-based attorney who specializes in

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

issues.

2008 ruling

On April 21, 2008, the indictment for mail and wire fraud was ruled "insufficient on its face" by the presiding Judge Richard Arcara. This means that, even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept as fact) were true, they would not constitute a crime. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) had thirty days from the date of the ruling to appeal. No action was taken in this time period, thus stopping any appeal of the dismissal. The only option left for the DoJ would be to re-indict Kurtz.

Film

The story of Kurtz is told in the film ''

,'' 2007, by filmmaker

. The film was simultaneously screened and webcast to the ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...

'' game on January 22, 2007. It focuses on Kurtz' art, character, and interaction with law enforcement. ''

'' premiered at the Sundance International Film Festival in 2007."Strange Culture", official homepage
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References

External links

Articles about the case:
CAE Defense Fund - Organization raising money for Kurtz's legal defense. Has additional information about the background of the Steve Kurtz case with extensive documentation.

Trailer for documentary about the case, "Strange Culture"
(directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson; features 2008 Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, Thomas J Ryan, Peter Coyote, Wallace Shawn)

June 2, 2004.

Spring 2005.

June 14, 2007.
Alternative Film Guide interview with Steve Kurtz and Lynn Hershman Leeson
March 31, 2008.
Art or Bioterrorism - Who Cares
Interview with Steve Kurtz by RU Sirius, 10 Zen Monkeys, September 26, 2007.
Disciplining The Avant-Garde, The United States versus The Critical Art Ensemble
by Gregory Sholette
The Political Problem of Luck
Interview with Steve Kurtz by Julia Bryan-Wilson, Plazm magazine, Issue 28, Summer, 2006.
Navigating the Gray Zone
Interview with Steve Kurtz, Arts Hub, April 21, 2006.

Information about Steve Kurtz & Critical Art Ensemble:
Critical Art Ensemble website

Critical Art Ensemble project at the Corcoran Museum, Washington D.C.

Critical Art Ensemble at the Edinburgh International Science Festival

Critical Art Ensemble at the World Information Organization

Video

"Art in a Time of Terror: Acclaimed Art Professor Steve Kurtz on How He Became a "Bioterrorism" Suspect"
– video report by ''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

program, June 16, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, Steve Living people University at Buffalo alumni University at Buffalo faculty American performance artists Year of birth missing (living people)