Art Imitates Life Sciences

Share this

"I feel sorry for Steve Kurtz because he lost his wife ... and he didn't even have time to grieve," said art professor Beatriz da Costa. Kurtz is part of the Critical Art Ensemble, an acclaimed group "dedicated to exploring the intersections between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory." Following Kurtz's wife's sudden death, police found "biological materials" at their home and involved the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Kurtz's art uses plants, bacterial cultures and lab equipment. Adele Henderson, a colleague at the University of Buffalo, called the ongoing FBI investigation "a total paranoid overreaction." Another friend commented, "There is no legal way to stop huge corporations from putting genetically altered material in our food, yet owning the equipment required to test for the presence of 'Frankenfood' will get you accused of 'terrorism.'"