Trials of Steve Kurtz, political art make an intriguing show

Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 16, 2007 at midnight

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When artist Steve Kurtz called the police to his Buffalo, N.Y., home in early May 2004 because his wife had died, a personal tragedy soon turned into a political firestorm.

Officers discovered materials Kurtz uses in art projects as a member of the noted arts collaborative, the Critical Art Ensemble: bacteria in petri dishes and the equipment to test genetically altered food.

Federal officials were called, and soon Kurtz learned he was being investigated for his involvement in bioterrorism. Also seized was the manuscript for the book Marching Plague: Germ Warfare and Global Public Health, as well as his car, his cat and his wife's body.

Almost three years later, Kurtz is still embroiled in a court case filed against him by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The cat has been sent to live with a friend in Canada. And the book was published last year.

That long saga - and art that combines political activism, technology and aesthetics - is at the heart of programs Wednesday night and Thursday at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood.

"We'll be talking about our own projects, and how they fit in with political art," said Kurtz, who will be joined in the programs by fellow Critical Art Ensemble member Steve Barnes.

Wednesday night's lineup includes a panel discussion on the history of political art, moderated by Martha Russo, an art professor at RMCAD, with participants Elissa Auther, assistant professor of contemporary art at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; Kiki Gilderhus, professor of art history at RMCAD, and Adam Lerner, executive director of The Lab at Belmar.

The panel will be followed by a talk by Kurtz and Barnes about their artwork; a similar talk is set for 1 p.m. Thursday. It's timed for students, but also open to the public.

The impetus for their visit to campus came because the head of the school's sculpture department knew Kurtz from her days in graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University.

"He was one of my graduate advisers, and I was his teaching assistant at one point," said Rebecca Vaughan. "Many of the other faculty and artists at Carnegie Mellon were collaborators with the Critical Art Ensemble. Many of my grad school contacts are associates of CAE."

Kurtz teaches at the University of Buffalo, and Barnes at Florida State University; they are among founders of the group in 1987.

"We were at Florida State, and we didn't feel the school was giving us an education in terms of culture," Kurtz said. "It was the '80s, and a real DIY (do-it-yourself) kind of time. So we did it ourselves."

As for the case taking on a timeless quality, "The reason you're still reading about it is if you don't agree to it being tried under the conditions the prosecutor wants, you lose your right to a speedy trial," said Kurtz, who can speak to process but not details because of the litigation. "I have no right to enforce a speedy trial."

Critical Arts Ensemble

• What: Programs addressing political art and issues raised by the 2004 arrest of artist Steve Kurtz for possessing bacteria for an art project

• Three elements: Panel discussion from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday on the history of political art; keynote presentation by members Steve Kurtz and Steve Barnes on their art and the pending court case against Kurtz at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, plus another talk at 1 p.m. Thursday

• Where: Philip J. Steele Auditorium, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, 1600 Pierce St., Lakewood

• Cost: Free

• Information: 303-753-6046

Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677.

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