PROTEST TO DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE INVESTIGATION OF STEVE KURTZ AND THE CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE - subpoenas have been served to at least seven artists

WHEN: 9 AM, June 15, 2004

WHERE: Niagara Square, Buffalo, New York, near the courthouse (see "Driving Directions" below for map)

**For information on June 15 protests in Amsterdam, San Francisco, London and Paris, please visit http://caedefensefund.org/demonstration.html#world

SEE SEOND ITEM BELOW

1.Art becomes the next suspect in America's 9/11 paranoia
2.PROTEST TO DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE INVESTIGATION OF STEVE KURTZ AND THE CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE
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1.Art becomes the next suspect in America's 9/11 paranoia
Gary Younge in Buffalo
Friday June 11, 2004
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1236288,00.html

On May 10 Steven Kurtz went to bed a married art professor. On May 11 he woke up a widower. By the afternoon he was under federal investigation for bioterrorism. <P>What began as a personal tragedy for Mr Kurtz has turned into what many believe is, at best, an overreaction prompted by 9/11 paranoia and, at worst, a politically motivated attempt to silence a radical artist.

Several of Mr Kurtz's colleagues and artistic collaborators have been subpoenaed and a date for a federal grand jury hearing set for Tuesday. Both artist and his art are set to go on trial for their alleged links with terrorism.

The ordeal started when Mr Kurtz, who teaches at the University at Buffalo, New York state, called the emergency services when he woke up to find Hope, his wife of 25 years, had stopped breathing.

A paramedic who came to his house saw laboratory equipment used in Mr Kurtz's art work. Within hours agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force were combing his house and had seized his books, personal papers, computer as well as his work which have still not been returned.

Hope, it transpired, had died of a heart failure which no one suggests had anything to do with Mr Kurtz or his work. But as her body lay in the house Mr Kurtz, 46, was whisked off to be questioned for two days while his home was cordoned off and searched. "It's a complete fishing expedition," says Mr Kurtz's lawyer, Paul Cambria. "There's no question that it's a paranoid overreaction that would never have happened before 9/11. I only hope that it is not simply aimed at trying to silence his message or the methods he's using to convey his message." The FBI refuses to comment.

Mr Kurtz, who is not speaking to the press, is part of the Critical Art Ensemble, "dedicated to exploring the intersections between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory".

His art often involves blending biology with agricultural issues. In 2002 his exhibit Molecular Invasion, a statement against genetically modified crops, created a display of small soy, corn and canola plants growing under large incubating lamps. Other exhibits allowed visitors to watch bacteria grow in petri dishes. "He's trying to change the world through his work and his discourse," says Adele Henderson, the head of the art department at the University at Buffalo.

The New York-based writer and artist Greg Sholette says: "His art itself is going to be on trial. The Critical Art Ensemble has a strong tradition of critiquing capitalism and pushing the edges through its art but always within constitutional boundaries."

When the police came to Mr Kurtz's house they found equipment used for extracting and amplifying DNA, as well as three types of bacteria - prompting bioterrorism fears.

"He is obviously not someone who is attempting to make a weapon," says Mr Cambria. "He explained that he uses the equipment for his art."

The subpoenas say the FBI is seeking charges under section 175 of the US Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, which has been expanded by the Patriot Act.

It prohibits the possession of "any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system" without the justification of "prophylactic, protective, bona fide research, or other peaceful purpose".

Mr Cambria argues that Mr Kurtz's work "obviously" comes under the last two categories.

"I know everything we did was legal," said Beatriz da Costa, a member of the CAE who says FBI agents followed her to an art show in Massachusetts to serve her a subpoena. "I can only think they are trying to intimidate us and maybe make us an example."

Ms da Costa, a professor at the University of California, says everything found in the house has been exhibited in public before.

Those close to Mr Kurtz or the case believe the case has spun out of control and has potentially huge ramifications. "I feel harassed and hassled," Ms Da Costa says. "But mostly I feel sorry for Steve Kurtz because he lost his wife, and his life has been a nightmare ever since. And he didn't even have time to grieve."
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2.PROTEST TO DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE INVESTIGATION OF STEVE KURTZ AND THE CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE

WHEN: 9 AM, June 15, 2004

WHERE: Niagara Square, Buffalo, New York, near the courthouse (see "Driving Directions" below for map)

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS CALL AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN. Check http://caedefensefund.org/demonstration.html for updates.

For background, please visit http://caedefensefund.org/overview.html and http://caedefensefund.org/press.html. For PDFs of signs that you can print out, please visit http://caedefensefund.org/demonstration.html#signs For information on June 15 protests in Amsterdam, San Francisco, London and Paris, please visit http://caedefensefund.org/demonstration.html#world

SUPPORT FREE SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF KNOWLEDGE

Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) is a collective of internationally recognized artists who work in public, educational, academic and art contexts. For the past few years, their principal aim has been to help the general public to understand biotechnology. By making scientific research accessible to laypeople through participatory performance experiences, CAE aims to demystify what is safe and clarify what is dangerous about today's biotech industry.

CAE always undertake their work in a safe and considered way. The materials they use are strictly non-hazardous, can be legally obtained by anyone, and are commonly found in undergraduate-level biology labs.

For more on CAE's projects and the biological agents and equipment they work with, please visit http://www.caedefensefund.org/.

A federal grand jury will convene on June 15 in Buffalo, New York, to consider bioterrorism charges brought by the Joint Terrorism Task Force against CAE member and University at Buffalo professor Steve Kurtz. The grand jury is the latest installment in a bizarre investigation in which members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force seem to have mistaken CAE's latest art project for a biological weapons laboratory.

According to the subpoenas served to at least seven artists, the charges fall under Section 175 of the US Biological Weapons  Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, which has been expanded by the USA PATRIOT Act to prohibit the possession of "any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system" without the justification of "prophylactic, protective, bona fide research, or other peaceful purpose" (http://caedefensefund.org/faq.html#law). Those served with subpoenas include two founding members of CAE (Steven Barnes, Dorian Burr, Beverly Schlee), two artists who have collaborated with CAE (Beatriz da Costa, Paul Vanouse), and at least two other artists.

Many worry that the case could set a dangerous precedent by silencing a group of artists for work that stimulates vital public discussion. Many feel that with this case and others, the government is wildly overreaching its mandate to protect the public from terrorism.

"Groups like CAE stimulate the public debate that is necessary to a healthy democracy," said Claire Pentecost, an artist who has collaborated with CAE in the past. "This isn't a case of one artist fighting for the freedom to express him or herself with images or  speech that some of the public might find offensive. This is a case of a group of artists using performance to educate the public on issues that affect all of us in our daily lives. The government's actions suggest a criminalization of a citizen's right to acquire knowledge by completely legal means. This goes to the very heart of democracy."

A number of other recent cases suggest that that the PATRIOT Act and other recent "security" measures have made freedom of speech increasingly fragile in the U.S. A list of such cases will be available shortly at http://www.caedefensefund.org/

ABOUT THE DEMONSTRATION: Please bring signs and banners if you can (see http://caedefensefund.org/demonstration.html#signs). This is a peaceful demonstration. As in all demonstrations, it's best to bring personal identification (driver's license, passport, student id, proof of address, etc.). Let someone know where you're going to be. Stick with a buddy.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From Interstate 90 take 33W into downtown all the way to the end. It will put you onto Oak St. Continue on Oak for 2 long blocks to Broadway. Go right on Broadway which runs right into Court St. The first square is Lafayette and then comes Niagara Square. There are paid parking lots all around this downtown area. Information on possible housing will be on the website shortly. http://mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=99+Court+St.&city=Buffalo&state=NY

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