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Artist ensnared by Patriot Act

Art in America, Sept, 2004 by Stephanie Cash

Since May, Buffalo artist Steve Kurtz has been the subject of a highly publicized federal investigation involving his possession of bacterial agents and lab equipment. The trouble began on May 11, when the artist awoke to find that his wife, Hope, was dead. After emergency workers arrived, they discovered what they considered to be suspicious items and called in the FBI. Invoking a 1989 bioterrorism law and the Patriot Act, which grants the federal government unprecedented search-and-seizure powers, federal agents detained Kurtz for 22 hours; they searched his home for two days, as well as his office at SUNY-Buffalo, where he is a faculty member. The bureau confiscated his wife's body, his house, car, equipment, computer hard drive, books, writings, correspondence, art projects and other items, even his cat. His house, cat and car were returned to him after one week, once it was determined that his wife's death of heart failure, at age 46, was unrelated to the bacterial matter.

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A member of the collective Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), Kurtz had obtained the lab equipment and two strains of harmless bacterial material--one of which is used in high-school biology classes--for a project that was to have appeared in the current exhibition at MASS MoCA, "The Interventionists: Art in the Social Sphere." The group planned to set up a lab in the museum so that visitors could bring in food products to be tested for genetically modified ingredients. At this writing, Kurtz's remaining property has not been returned. The gallery at MASS MoCA where the work was to have been installed contains computers with which viewers can access information about the piece, a few packaged food items and copies of news stories covering Kurtz's ordeal.

In June, the charges against Kurtz were downgraded from bioterrorism to mail and wire fraud for obtaining biological agents under false pretenses. Also charged in the case is Robert Ferrell, former chairman of the University of Pittsburgh's human genetics department, who ordered the bacterial material, worth $256, on Kurtz's behalf. Ferrell has not yet been arraigned because he is undergoing treatment for recurring non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which prompted him to resign from his position at the university. Subpoenas were issued to seven members of the collective and the group's publishing company Autonomedia, for which Kurtz's wife served as editor. Armed with the Patriot Act, investigators had also sought to obtain information on individuals and bookstores that had ordered books from Autonomedia, but backed off after the ACLU and other activists cried foul on First Amendment grounds.

According to Ed Cardoni, executive director of the Buffalo alternative space Hallwalls and board president of the National Association of Artists' Organizations, which is serving as the fiscal agent for the CAE Defense Fund [www.caedefensefund.org], legal costs for Kurtz and Ferrell together are expected to be at least $300,000. Included in that amount are fees that Kurtz will have to pay to obtain copies of all his records seized by the FBI. Even if Kurtz is acquitted, the federal government will not reimburse him for his legal expenses. However, since he is an employee of a state university, New York State will pay his costs if he is acquitted. The CAE's defense fund initially raised $30,000, which was quickly depleted in the early phase of the investigation.

Kurtz, who is not speaking to the press on the advice of his lawyer, was released on his own recognizance but is under close scrutiny. Travel restrictions have been placed on him, he must submit to drug tests, and he is subject to random visits and inspections by a probation officer. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison. Kurtz has maintained his innocence and said that, on principle, he will not seek a plea agreement with federal authorities, though it is expected that a dismissal will be sought. Pretrial motions are to begin in mid-October, when a trial date will be set for sometime in the spring.

Artist ensnared by Patriot Act

Art in America, Sept, 2004 by Stephanie Cash

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