Dr. Steven Kurtz (Critical Art Ensemble)

Hi Everyone,

This is some information on the case against Dr. Steven Kurtz, against whom charges were dropped recently. A friend sent it to me via email, I hope it is ok to post it on the blog.

April 21, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUDGE DISMISSES MAIL FRAUD CASE AGAINST BIO-ARTIST KURTZ

Buffalo, NY - A process that has taken nearly four years may be coming to
an end. On Monday, April 21, Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara ruled to
dismiss the indictment against University at Buffalo Professor of Visual
Studies Dr. Steven Kurtz.

In June 2004, Professor Kurtz was charged with two counts of mail fraud
and two counts of wire fraud stemming from an exchange of $256 worth of
harmless bacteria with Dr. Robert Ferrell, Professor of Human Genetics at
the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Dr. Kurtz planned to use the bacteria in an educational art exhibit about
biotechnology with his award-winning art and theater collective, Critical
Art Ensemble.

Professor Kurtz' lawyer, Paul Cambria, said that his client was "pleased
and relieved that this ordeal may be coming to an end."

The prosecution has the right to appeal this dismissal. How the
prosecution will proceed is unknown at this time. If an appeal were
undertaken the case would move to the New York Second Circuit Court of
Appeals in New York City.

Lucia Sommer, Coordinator of the CAE Defense Fund, which raises funds for
Kurtz' legal defense, said, "We are all grateful that after reviewing this
case, Judge Arcara took appropriate action." She added that "this decision
is further testament to our original statements that Dr. Kurtz is
completely innocent and never should have been charged in the first place."

BACKGROUND ON DR. STEVEN KURTZ AND CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE

Critical Art Ensemble (which Kurtz co-founded in 1987 with Steven Barnes)
has won numerous awards for its bio-art, including the prestigious 2007
Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression
Grant, honoring more than two decades of distinguished work. The group has
been commissioned to exhibit and perform in many of the world's cultural
institutions-including the London Museum of Natural History; The ICA,
London; the Whitney Museum and the New Museum in NYC; the Corcoran Museum
of Art in Washington, DC; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Musée d'Art
Moderne de la Ville de Paris; der Volksbüne, Berlin; ZKM, Karlsruhe; El
Matadero, Madrid; Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Museo de Arte
Carrilo Gil, Mexico City and many more.



For more information:
http://caedefensefund.org/releases/042108_Release.html

See you next Friday, cheers

PS sorry for the weird layout

Alternative GFP Vessel Pictures

GFP Modification of Bacteria Pictures.

GFP Modification of Bacteria Lab.

I would like to take a moment to thank Akos Maroy for running the GFP lab last week.  I found it to be a very informative lecture and workshop, and it seem that all of you did too!  If you wish to see his blog posting of the event here is a link.  

We should also thank our special guests for their contributions to the group discussion, Lucas Evers (WAAG) and Danielle Hofmans (TAAG.) 

I popped into the lab a couple of days ago, and had a look at the results of our lab.  Most of the groups completed the genetic transformation correctly - though I saw one or two sets that did not seem to be successful.  Additionally, i was very pleased with the results we got utilizing the alternative vessels, and liquid Agar.  I will do some photo documentation of the results shortly.  Otherwise, I have some great pictures from the Akos' lesson that I will post today.

Enjoy your holiday!

Jennifer

Lab Kit, Inspiration to modify our tents

Hi everybody,

I found this nice website about lab kits for children:
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/

it is very interesting and maybe we could need to buy something from there.

Then, I also saw this particular tent for butterflies:
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/products/6408-butterfly-bungalow

I thought that maybe we could cut windows from the real tents we are using and replace the textile with this kind of transparent net.

See u
laura

Alvira Shvarts and Gregor Schneider

Following up from friday afternoon, Aliza Shvarts -the artist who artificially inseminated herself for 9 months- and Gregor Schneider - the artist who wants a person to die in his next exhibition.

Gregor Schneider wants to have someone die during his next exhibition in Krefeld, Germany. The artist has long been interested in the idea of death in the museum space, and in 2002 he pretended to die during the exhibition. Source: The Art Newspaper.

Schneider seems to explore relationships between the individual and the architecture, which for him seems inseparable from authority structures. In Weisse Folter ("White Torture") the viewer explores a succession of cramped, eery spaces.



Yale University student Alvira Shvarts has for a period of nine months periodically inpregnated herself, and systematically inducing miscarriages. According to the Yale Daily News the show will show her documentation of these nine months, including videotapes of the induced miscarriages, and blood salvaged from these self-induced abortions. The question that her work poses is whether or not the artist is completely free to use his or her body as s/he wishes. Obviously the issue of abortion is a delicate one, and regardless of whether or not Shvarts' art is good art, I personally feel that people should be guarantueed complete sovereignty over their own physicality.

In connection with the performance element in both of projects I would also like to name Marina Abramovic, who with her artistic Ulay has long explored the idea of self-mutilation, pain and performance.



In Relation in Time Marina and Ulay have entangled their hair, and edge away from each other slowly, pulling at their hair. She has also explored the notion of self-mutilation in her piece The Star, where she cut a star into her stomach.

I think that a strong link between Bioart and performance art is the exploration of physicality, whether that be through microscopic structures or the use of one's own body. I think both also draw on a strong spiritual element. Bioart is by way of the laboratory space and the specialised knowledge strongly reminiscent of the pursuit of medieval alchemy, transforming matter into something higher. This empirical component of Bioart, and the irrational element of performance art ("letting go" for the actor) suggest an Apollonian-Dionysian model.

CBC PodCasts

Hello All.

I have been listening to a great series of podcasts hosted online through the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio. I thought you may be interested as well. They are available here:

Ideas: How to Think About Science
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?45#ref45

Have a good weekend. :)

Jennifer.