September 2004

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

The State vs Art

Emma Miller, an intern at Peacework and student at Colby College, wrote this article based on information from
www.caedefensefund.org.

From the book, Electronic Civil Disobedience, by the Critical Art Ensemble, available online at www.critical-art.net/books/index.html

Steve Kurtz, an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Buffalo called 911 early in the morning of May 11, 2004 after waking to discover his wife Hope had died in her sleep. She had suffered a cardiac arrest. The police arrived. Instead of assisting Professor Kurtz with his grief, they called in the FBI and the Joint Task Force on Terrorism, abducted Kurtz without charges, sealed off his entire block, confiscated his computers, manuscripts, art supplies... and even his wife's body.

Cranked up on the rhetoric of the "War on Terror," the police feared Kurtz's art supplies were bioterrorism weapons.

When the Joint Task Force on Terrorism searched Kurtz's home, he was in the midst of researching the issue of biological warfare and bioterrorism for an art and education project designed to spur public dialogue about the danger these weapons, and US policies, pose. Kurtz is a founding member of the Critical Arts Ensemble, a collective of five tactical media practitioners -focusing on the intersections between art, critical theory, technology, and political -activism.

Therefore, Kurtz had many books about bioweapons and had legally acquired three strains of easily obtainable harmless bacteria commonly used as educational tools in schools and university biology departments. The plan was to use the bacteria in an art project which would critique the history of US germ warfare experiments.

Seven of Kurtz's artistic colleagues and CAE's publisher, Autonomedia, have also been subpoenaed to appear in front of a Grand Jury investigating potential violations of the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (expanded by the US Patriot Act of 2001).

"Kurtz's materials are politically, not physically, dangerous," said Mary-Claire King, a famous University of Washington geneticist. She avers that CAE's art challenges us, suggesting, "'Maybe you'd like to look at it this way.' To me, that's teaching. It does not seem to me to threaten homeland security. In fact, I would be threatened to live in a homeland in which that was perceived to be a threat."

Dr. Robert Ferrell, head of the department of genetics at the U. of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, was then also arrested, accused of helping Kurtz obtain $256 worth of bacteria. Dr. Kurtz and Dr. Ferrell were arraigned and charged in Federal District Court on June 8, 2004 in Buffalo not with bioterrorism, the investigative reason that was stated on the original FBI subpoenas, but with four counts of mail and wire fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Under the arraignment conditions, Kurtz is subject to travel restrictions, random and scheduled visits from a probation officer, and periodic drug tests. Kurtz is being represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union, and is receiving support from PEN's Freedom to Write Committee, among many others.

Money is needed for legal defense, and sample letters of support and literature to distribute are also available at
www.caedefensefund.org, or write, c/o Halwalls, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY, 14202.

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