[spectre] International Support Letter for Steven Kurtz / CAE + DESIGNER BODIES

Wed Jun 2 11:49:13 CEST 2004

Hi Eric and all,

In early April this year New Media Scotland welcomed Steve Kurtz for 
the first time to Edinburgh to take part in DESIGNER BODIES 
International Symposium. Little did we all know that a tragedy was 
starting to unfold a month or so later... Over 70 people attended the 
Symposium and were extremely impressed by his presentation. I believe 
we can potentially ask all who attended to sign up such a support 
letter. All Symposium contributors have already been alerted to 
http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to experience or want to 
revisit DESIGNER BODIES  see some background details below.

-Iliyana Nedkova
Edinburgh

"Designer Bodies serves as the centerpiece of a season of events, all 
taking a closer look at advances in biotechnology and human 
genetics,...and the interface between art and science" - Jack Mottram, 
The List

DESIGNER BODIES
featuring Christine Borland, Gina Czarnecki, Jacqueline Donachie and 
Gair Dunlop
curated by Iliyana Nedkova
co-produced by New Media Scotland and Stills

This week is your last chance
ONLY TILL Sunday | 6 June 2004

Daily | 11am  – 6pm |  Admission Free
Stills | 23 Cockburn Street | Edinburgh
0131 622 6200 | http://www.stills.org

NEXT | Coming up on www.mediascot.org and www.stills.org
Audio-visual Highlights from DESIGNER BODIES | International Symposium 
| Saturday, 3 April  2004 | Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 
Edinburgh | featuring Alan Bleakley (UK) | Steve Kurtz (US) | Jens 
Hauser (G/Fr) | Warren Neidich (US/UK) | Bronac Ferran (UK) | Bergit 
Arends (G/UK) | Chris Byrne (UK) |  Christine Borland (UK) | Gina 
Czarnecki (Aus/UK) | Gair Dunlop (UK) | Keith Skene (UK)

"I really enjoyed the Symposium and found it thought provoking in a lot 
of ways that were unexpected. It was really excellent" -Susan Bleakley, 
artist, Cornwall

For further details please contact:
Iliyana Nedkova | Associate Curator  | New Media Scotland
P.O. Box 23434 | Edinburgh EH7 5SZ | +44 131 477 3774
iliyana at mediascot.org | http://www.mediascot.org

On 2 Jun 2004, at 10:16, mollybh at netspace.net.au wrote:

Hi, Eric and Barbara,
I had thought we might start, considering the networked properties of 
the CAE
work and probability that we had read their writings and books and had 
them on
our shelves...that we could start a site or a list of artists who claim 
also
to be collaborators! How many people can those m*th*rs work on at once? 
:')
Molly

Quoting Barbara Lattanzi <threads at wildernesspuppets.net>:

> 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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>
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