Artist says his prosecution is persecution.Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard When artist Steve Kurtz's wife of 20 years died of a heart attack at their Buffalo, N.Y., home in 2004, he called 911. Police who arrived at his home that night saw laboratory equipment for growing bacteria that Kurtz used in his art installations about the dangers of genetic engineering. Fearing bioterrorism, they cordoned off the house, seized Hope Kurtz's body and called the FBI. That evening could have been no more than a Kafkaesque moment for Kurtz, a professor at the State University of New York (body) State University of New York - (SUNY) The public university system of New York State, USA, with campuses throughout the state. at Buffalo and member of the art collective Critical Art Ensemble. He was clearly an artist, with both academic credentials and a history of exhibits. And the bacteria were found to be harmless. But federal authorities have yet to let it all go. Though a grand jury refused to indict in·dict tr.v. in·dict·ed, in·dict·ing, in·dicts 1. To accuse of wrongdoing; charge: a book that indicts modern values. 2. him on terrorism charges, Kurtz and Robert Ferrell, another CAE (1) (Computer-Aided Engineering) Software that analyzes designs which have been created in the computer or that have been created elsewhere and entered into the computer. member, are facing mail fraud and wire charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence. The feds say the fraud is that Kurtz and Ferrell didn't properly inform a company supplying the bacteria about who they were. Kurtz says the only reason they are being prosecuted is to punish them for being critical of the Bush administration. Kurtz will talk about his experiences in a lecture at 7 p.m. tonight at the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. . Government censorship of artists has gotten worse in the past half century, Kurtz says. ``There is a real model change here,'' he said by phone from the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where ``Strange Culture,'' a documentary based on his experiences, was being screened. ``Back in the '60s or '70s they would just try to pauperize pau·per·ize tr.v. pau·per·ized, pau·per·iz·ing, pau·per·iz·es To make a pauper of; impoverish. pau you - cut off your grants, get you fired from your job. Now they will also put you in jail.'' Kurtz said the only extremists in this case are the government prosecutors. ``The interpretation they are using is so extreme - and I mean, extreme - it basically will make it so there is no real difference between civil and criminal law. They will be able to prosecute pretty much anyone they want.'' The longtime radical says he has always expected trouble from the government. ``It's not like something I thought about every day,'' he said, ``but you have to remember after doing 20 years of interventionist work, we have met everybody along the way: lawyers, police, politicians. We have been attacked by them all.'' Kurtz said he and the other members of CAE have always been scrupulous scru·pu·lous adj. 1. Conscientious and exact; painstaking. See Synonyms at meticulous. 2. Having scruples; principled. in their personal lives. They stay clear of such things as using drugs or pirated software to avoid allowing the government a way to prosecute them, he says. He didn't anticipate the mail fraud charges. ``Even the people we supposedly defrauded say nothing wrong happened,'' he said. ``My case is ultimately a First Amendment issue.'' Critical Art Ensemble was founded by Kurtz and his wife. Members use high school lab equipment and common household supplies to create installations about science, technology and information. Kurtz was working on "Marching Plague," an exhibition for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art This article is about Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. For other Museums named Museum of Contemporary Art, see Museum of Contemporary Art. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, commonly referred to as MASS MoCA , when the agents seized his equipment, his library, correspondence and computers. "Marching Plague" re-created a 1952 British military experiment in which guinea pigs were infected with plague to see how fast it would spread. It was featured in the Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of recent American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1918. 2006. LECTURE Steve Kurtz Steve Kurtz is a member of the performance art group, Critical Art Ensemble. He is primarily known for his work in Bio-art, and because of his arrest by the FBI in May 2004. Who: The East Coast artist was accused of bioterrorism in 2004, and is still under indictment for mail fraud and wire fraud Where: Lawrence Hall, Room 177, 1190 Franklin Blvd., on the University of Oregon campus The University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon has around 80 buildings and facilities, including athletics sites such as Hayward Field, which is the site for the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials, and McArthur Court, and off-campus sites such as nearby Autzen Stadium and the When: 7 p.m. today Admission: Free |
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