microRevolt reBlog

Renowned artist and SUNY Buffalo professor Steve Kurtz presents a benefit
screening of "Strange Culture," a documentary about an attempt by the
Justice Department to frame him as a bio-terrorist.

This is a joint event between the BioArt Initiative at RPI and the
Sanctuary for Independent media in Troy, NY. It is also the final event
of the Art,Freedom, Democracy series, which was jeopardized by the City
of Troy's order to close The Sanctuary for Independent Media. The order
to close the Sanctuary for code violations came just hours after the
opening of the series, which focuses on government intimidation and
censorship under the guise of counter-terrorism. Christ Church United
Methodist agreed to provide refuge for the remaining three of four
presentations in the series.

Lynn Hershman Leeson's new film "Strange Culture" is a brilliantly
conceived documentary that breaks conventional rules out of necessity to
tell the story. Artist and college professor Steve Kurtz was preparing
for a MASS MoCA exhibition that lets audiences test whether food has been
genetically modified when, days before the opening, his wife tragically
died of heart failure. Kurtz called 911, but when police arrived, they
became suspicious of his art supplies and called the FBI. Dozens of
agents in haz-mat suits sifted through his home and impounded his
computers, books, cat, and even his wife's body. The government held
Kurtz as a suspected terrorist, and, nearly three years later, the
charges have not been dropped. He still faces up to 20 years in prison.

Because Kurtz cannot talk about certain aspects of the ongoing case,
Leeson enlists actors, including 2008 Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton, Josh
Kornbluth, and Peter Coyote, to interpret the story. Leeson skillfully
weaves dramatic reenactment, news footage, animation, testimonials, and
footage of Kurtz himself into a sophisticated documentary about post-9/11
paranoia and the risks artists face when their work questions government
policies.

"Strange Culture" premiered at Sundance and has gone on to win many
awards at film festivals internationally. The Hollywood Reporter called
it "a strange and compelling Kafka-esque account of an American artist
caught up in Bush's war on terror." FilmThreat called the film "a
brilliant statement on artistic freedom and the dangers it faces."

Steve Kurtz, the subject of the documentary and the ongoing legal case,
is a founding member of the award-winning art and theater collective,
Critical Art Ensemble (CAE). Since its formation in 1987, CAE has been
frequently invited to exhibit and perform projects examining issues
surrounding information, communications and bio-technologies by museums
and other cultural institutions. These include The Whitney Museum and
The New Museum in NYC; The Corcoran Museum in Washington D.C.; The ICA,
London; The MCA, Chicago; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Musee d'Art
Moderne de la Ville de Paris; and The London Museum of Natural History.
The collective has written 6 books, and its writings have been translated
into 18 languages.

This event is made possible by volunteer labor and hundreds of small
donations from patrons of The Sanctuary for Independent Media, and is a
co-presentation with RPI's BioArt Initiative.

One hundred percent of proceeds from this event will directly benefit
Steve Kurtz's ongoing legal battle. The CAE Defense Committee, in
consultation with the defense attorneys, estimates they are at least
$60,000 short of being able to pay Professor Kurtz's legal fees through trial.

ABOUT THE SANCTUARY
The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a telecommunications production
facility dedicated to community media arts, located in an historic former
church at 3361 6th Avenue in north Troy, NY. The Sanctuary hosts
screening, production and performance facilities, training in media
production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent
media makers of all kinds.

NOTE: The Sanctuary has been closed by the City of Troy; current events
being hosted by Christ Church. http://mediasanctuary.org/
ABOUT THE BIO-ART INITIATIVE AT RENSSELAER

The BioArt Initiative is a collaborative research project between RPI's
Arts Department and the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary
Studies (CBIS). This project proposes to lay the foundation establishing
RPI as a premiere institution for the synthesis of emerging
biotechnological research and media art practice. The potential for
creating a mutually supportive and critically engaged culture between
art, engineering and science exists at RPI to a degree that is possible
in only a select few universities worldwide. The initiative brings
together RPI's cutting-edge biotechnology resources with its world-class
electronic arts community.

http://www.arts.rpi.edu/bioart/
ABOUT CHRIST CHURCH

The mission of Christ Church United Methodist is to glorify God through thoughtful and artistic worship, by reaching out to those in need, and by actively engaging important social issues. Christ Church is a congregation with a rich history of nearly 200 years that looks forward to an exciting future. The people of Christ Church combine a desire for serving the city of Troy with a passion for making disciples of Christ. We are a congregation of diverse backgrounds united by our common mission of serving God where we are. http://www.christchurchtroy.org/
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LINKS

The film:
http://www.strangeculture.net/
Trailer:
http://tinyurl.com/3yr2b3
Hollywood Reporter review:
http://tinyurl.com/yp4ro5
FilmThreat review:
http://tinyurl.com/36jdkn
Variety review:
http://tinyurl.com/yu8ewq
Hi res stills:
http://www.strangeculture.net/
Background and extensive links about the Kurtz case:
http://www.caedefensefund.org/