[spectre] International Support Letter for Steven Kurtz / CAE

[Barbara Lattanzi]

Hello Eric.

I think that you are right on target with the initiative you suggest.

I also suggest that many more people linking to the biotech materials on 
the CAE website, plus absorbing deeply and spreading understanding of and 
enthusiasm for CAE's work - like a seeds in the wind - will be the most 
effective gesture of all.

http://www.critical-art.net/


Barbara Lattanzi
www.wildernesspuppets.net




At 05:32 PM 6/1/2004, you wrote:
>Dear friends,
>
>Is anybody already working on a support letter for Steven Kurtz?
>
>Maybe we orverlooked the most obvious way to help at this point, which is 
>to provide an international letter, signed by a list of internationally 
>acclaimed curators, writers, critics, artists, and anybody else out there 
>who has a direct and professional relationship to the work of Steven Kurtz 
>and the Critical Art Ensemble.
>
>More information on the support campaign can at this point be found at the 
>following web page:
>http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/
>
>How do we write the letter - do we circulate a draft letter publically, or 
>in small committee?
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Eric Kluitenberg
>De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics, Amsterdam
>http://www.debalie.nl
>
>
>------------------
>
>
>May 25, 2004
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>FBI ABDUCTS ARTIST, SEIZES ART
>Feds Unable to Distinguish Art from Bioterrorism
>Grieving Artist Denied Access to Deceased Wife's Body
>
>          DEFENSE  FUND ESTABLISHED - HELP URGENTLY NEEDED
>
>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.
>
>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 at rtmark.com>.
>
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