[pure-silver] OT: Be careful what you keep in your lab, er, darkroom
- From: jeffrey <puresilver@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 09:31:00 -0700
Art world comes to the cause of arrested artist
By Robert L. Pincus
UNION-TRIBUNE ART CRITIC
July 3, 2005
Imagine this scenario: You are a well-established artist and
respected university professor. You wake up one morning to find your
spouse of 25 years isn't breathing. You call 911. Paramedics arrive,
accompanied by police.
There are a few petri dishes in the house, because your conceptually
oriented work involves scientific-style installations and issues. So,
one of those workers decides you just might be a terrorist and calls
the FBI.
The next day, as you are on the way to the funeral home, you are
detained by the FBI and the Joint Terrorist Task Force. You are held
for 22 hours without having your Miranda rights read to you. Your
home and even part of your block is cordoned off; your computer,
books, manuscripts and anything else deemed suspicious are
confiscated by workers in hazmat suits. Even your spouse's body is
held for further analysis.
Sound like the outline of a compelling novel or film about
governmental abuse of power? Sure. But this story isn't imaginary. It
is what University of Buffalo professor Steven Kurtz, a member of the
artists' collaborative called Critical Art Ensemble (CAE),
experienced in May 2004 when someone who answered his 911 call
decided to make a call to the FBI.
This tale doesn't end there; Kurtz is now facing charges that could
result in a 20-year prison sentence.
Artists across the United States and beyond have taken up Kurtz's
cause, because they feel it is their cause, too. Following an earlier
fundraiser in London, an auction to raise money for his defense was
held at the esteemed Paula Cooper Gallery in New York in April. Those
donating work included some of the best-known contemporary artists -
Chris Burden, Ann Hamilton, Barbara Kruger, Sol Lewitt, Louise
Lawler, Brice Marden and Kiki Smith, among others.
"We feel that artists' and intellectuals' First Amendment rights are
in serious jeopardy under this administration," stated Helen
Molesworth, one of the auction's co-organizers, shortly before the
event opened. "It's so important, for all of us, that our abilities
to be creative thinkers are not hampered by government." (Molesworth
is chief curator for exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in
Columbus, Ohio.)
For some years, Kurtz has been a pivotal member of the CAE, a
collaborative of artists that, through books, writings on the Web and
exhibitions, has reflected on such subjects as what it calls "the
flesh machine" (the scientific/medical establishment) and on
genetically engineered food. And the group's installations have
incorporated bacteria and food testing because of its broader
interest in demystifying science for the lay person.
The argument could be made that the FBI and the Terrorist Task Force
were being reasonable when they followed up on a phone call and
sampled the materials in Kurtz's petri dishes. But the government has
continued to pursue prosecution, even after the Commissioner of
Public Health for the state of New York declared that the samples of
bacteria in the petri dishes were harmless.
While there apparently wasn't enough evidence to bring bioterrorist
charges, the government is pursuing wire and mail fraud charges
against Kurtz and Robert Ferrell, a former head of the Department of
Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health.
"These laws (on fraud) have been on the books for more than a
century. Whether it (the bacteria) is or isn't harmful isn't an
element of the offense. The case centers on property acquired by
fraud or misstatement," said U.S. Assistant District Attorney William
Hochul on Thursday. He's the prosecutor on the case, which is being
tried in New York.
Ferrell's crime was to have helped Kurtz obtain $256 worth of benign
bacteria, which means he didn't follow the fine print of his contract
with a company called American Type Culture Collection. The firm
itself has taken no legal action against either Kurtz or Ferrell. Yet
if convicted of the government's charges, artist and scientist could
serve up to 20 years in prison.
Kurtz, himself, tries to be philosophical about his situation.
"When you stand up to authoritarian parts of the culture, stuff like
this will happen," says Kurtz. "People I know say it's inevitable.
"I would temper that point and say it could happen to lots of people,
and somehow I got picked. I certainly got the booby prize on this."
Standing up, in CAE terms, means confronting troublesome subjects. As
part of The Free Range Project, the CAE lets people have the
opportunity to bring in food to be tested for genetic modifications.
It had been presented in a European venue but couldn't go on view at
the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in May 2004 because much
of the materials were confiscated from Kurtz's home.
"Molecular Invasion" was the CAE's companion book on this subject,
which argued that some science can be scrutinized by everyone.
"Amateur discourse clearly has a place in the transgenic debates
since some levels of study can be reviewed by nonexperts," they
write. "The stakes are too high for product safety testing to be left
solely in the domain of corporate and scientific experts."
One can speculate that the government isn't sympathetic to the latest
Critical Arts Ensemble project either, which looks at the history of
germ warfare and issues of American policy about biological warfare
and bioterrorism. Toward this end, Kurtz had acquired three bacteria
that have been used as educational tools in schools. They were in his
home at the time of the search.
Having to deal with the case has forced him to work a lot slower, he
says. But, he adds, "The FBI is not going to stop us. If anything,
we're more committed to what we do, not less."
Looking at the government's goals, he speculated, "They are trying to
develop an internal enemy that fits into their canon of fear. Bob
(Ferrell) looks like a friendly grandpa. And if they can convince
people that even he could be a terrorist, then who isn't a potential
terrorist?"
The Critical Art Ensemble Defense Fund has raised enough money to
defend him adequately. In May, at the most recent hearing before a
judge in Buffalo, Kurtz's attorney, Paul Cambria, asked that the case
be dismissed. He argued that the government intentionally misled the
judge when obtaining the original search warrant. Any ruling on this
won't likely happen until late July or August. Still, if events don't
go the government's way, it can appeal, of course, forcing Kurtz to
raise more funds for his defense.
He believes that his irreplaceable materials won't ever be returned.
"Even if the case concludes," he says, "they'll probably think of
some way to keep the investigation going."
While hearings about the wire and mail-fraud charges have gone
forward, a Buffalo grand jury subpoenaed CAE member Steven Barnes.
After testifying, Barnes told a reporter, "It seems apparent that the
prosecution is still trying to pursue some kind of biological weapons
charge."
On what basis they might bring charges is unclear, though initially
the Justice Department's Assistant District Attorney William Hochul
was trying to use a section of the Patriot Act, which expanded the
earlier Biological Weapons Statute.
"Apparently," writes the CAE in a recent essay, "the U.S. Justice
Department is now trying to make CAE into an example of what can
happen to citizens whose only 'crime' is having thoughts of dissent
enacted within the sphere of legality and the alleged protection of
constitutional rights."
Whether Kurtz and Ferrell's fraud charges are dismissed or not is
only one reason for attention to be paid to this case. The larger
issue centers on whether the government's "war on terror" is having a
corrosive effect on artistic expression.
Robert L. Pincus: (619) 293-1831; robert.pincus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20050703-9999-1a03polart2.html
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