Screening: Strange Culture
Steve Kurtz is a Buffalo art professor and member of the internationally renowned performance art group Critical Art Ensemble, a collective of media artists whose output includes public performances, books, graphic design, film/video, and critical essays. Their recent work has focused extensively on biotechnology, and the social and political context surrounding it. Kurtz primarily specializes in “Bio Art,” mixing art, science and politics. His work ranges from video installations to actual scientific experiments, addressing topics like the ethical concerns of genetically modified food, or the history of government research in biological weaponry.
On the morning of May 11, 2004, Kurtz called 911 to report his wife’s death by heart failure. Police and emergency personnel responded, and became suspicious of the bacterial cultures and laboratory equipment in his home. The FBI detained Kurtz as a suspected terrorist and impounded his possessions. He was never indicted for terrorism charges, but now faces 20 years in prison for federal criminal mail fraud; many believe this to be part of an effort by the US government to censor his work.
Lynn Hershman Leeson tells Kurtz’s story in the film Strange Culture.
