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[microsound] CAE artist arrested
FBI ABDUCTS ARTIST, SEIZES ART
Feds Unable to Distinguish Art from Bioterrorism
Grieving Artist Denied Access to Deceased Wife's Body
Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) collective member 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
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.
To make a donation, please visit
http://www.rtmark.com/
CAEdefense/
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
CAEdefense@xxxxxxxxxxx
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