Critical Art Ensemble Subpoenas - N. Post. June 12, 2004

A shorter version of this ran in the Post on Saturday. They cut the Halifax stuff for space reasons. But also because they are two separate stories anyway ....

The email buzz in recent weeks among artists and curators around the globe is the bizarre FBI investigation of University of Buffalo’s art professor Stephen Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz, 46, called paramedics when he found is wife had died suddenly in her sleep. While there, the medics found suspicious looking lab equipment and bacteria samples Kurtz had been using for some of his art exhibitions. The medics informed police who called the Joint Terrorism Task Force who then taped off Kurtz’s house and spent two days in protective suits searching his home.

As a member of the internationally renowned Critical Art Ensemble, a group that deals with the politics surrounding biotechnology, Kurtz’s house does apparently look a bit like an amateur laboratory. But it was quickly determined that nothing in the home could have hurt even a fly, and Kurtz’s wife died of natural causes. But the FBI hasn't ended the investigation, which is causing lots of art professionals to worry what this means for creative expression in the new post 9-11 era of paranoia. Kurtz and six other university colleagues have been given subpoenas to appear before a grand jury on June 15 on charges that are still not known.

What appears to keeping the investigation alive is Petri dishes filled with completely harmless bacteria and Kurtz’s "mobile DNA extraction laboratory," which is designed to test for contamination in store-bought food. It can detect if grains and organisms have been genetically modified. That's it.

"The whole thing is ridiculous," says Millie Chen, a former Toronto artist who now works with Kurtz at the university. "He’s very careful. Steve’s not inclined to just bumble his way into working with these materials. He works with professional scientists."

The only other minor brush with the law Kurtz has had before this, happened in Halifax two years ago. Students of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) had invited him to do a workshop where they came up with a pro-active environmental idea of posting "sorry" notices around the city -- as in, "Sorry" our harbour is so dirty, or "sorry" everyone, that this public sculpture shaped like a wave is so ugly. One sign, in the form of a small LED box, was installed on the Dartmouth ferry. A passenger spotted it and, fearing it might be a bomb, alerted the captain, who then unloaded the passengers and sailed the boat out to sea in the event of an explosion. The incident delayed ferry service for over four hours.

No matter what the outcome of the FBI investigation, Kurtz will be facing huge legal fees. Donation and petition information is online at CAE Defence Fund