Two Evenings of Events Concerning Civil Liberties and Artistic Freedom "Post-911"

Award-Winning Documentary Chronicles Artist's Post-PATRIOT Act Legal Nightmare Critical Art Ensemble Founder to Discuss His Case, Artistic & Academic Freedom

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On Thursday January 24 and Friday January 25, 2008, several academic departments and programs at the University of Rochester, in conjunction with the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House, will present two evenings of events examining the impact of the "post-9/11" political landscape on civil liberties and artistic freedom.

On Thursday, January 24, Dr. Steven Kurtz, cofounder of the internationally acclaimed art and theater group Critical Art Ensemble and a Professor of Visual Studies at the University at Buffalo, will deliver a lecture entitled "Crossing the Line: Interdisciplinary Work in a Society of Fear" at 5 p.m. in the Hawkins-Carlson Room of the University of Rochester's Rush Rhees Library. The lecture will explore factors that impede critical interventions in and between the fields of art, science, and politics, and will chronicle the reasons why the violence against cultural resistance has intensified over the past five years. Kurtz and Critical Art Ensemble were awarded the 2007 Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression Prize in recognition of their 20 years of artistic practice. A reception with refreshments will follow the talk, which is free and open to the public.

On Friday, January 25 at 8 p.m., the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House will present the Rochester Premiere Screening of the award-winning documentary Strange Culture, which was selected to open both the 2007 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and the documentary section of the Berlin International Film Festival after its premiere at Sundance.

Strange Culture is directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson and features Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Chronicles of Narnia), Peter Coyote (E.T., Erin Brochovich), Thomas Jay Ryan (Henry Fool, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride, My Dinner with Andre), with an original score by The Residents. The film is the recipient of the 2007 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Marlon Riggs Prize, honoring "courage and innovation" in filmmaking.

Strange Culture chronicles Dr. Kurtz's surreal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice. In May 2004 Kurtz and his wife Hope were preparing an art exhibit examining GM agriculture for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art when Hope died of heart failure. Police who responded to Kurtz's distressed 911 call became suspicious of biological equipment used in the couple's internationally exhibited art practice, and notified the FBI. Within hours the artist found himself detained as a suspected "bioterrorist," as dozens of federal agents in Hazmat suits raided his home, seizing art materials, computers, books, manuscripts, his cat, and even his wife's body. Nearly four years later, Kurtz awaits a trial date on charges of "mail fraud"-charges which carry the possibility of a 20-year jail sentence under the PATRIOT Act. Since the ongoing nature of the case prevents Kurtz from discussing its details, Hershman Leeson has enlisted actors to dramatize parts of the story, skillfully interweaving dialogue with news footage, animation, interviews, testimonials, and footage of Kurtz himself.

WATCH THE TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikNO1ANHIQs

CONTACTS
Program in Visual & Cultural Studies: 585-275-9249
Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House: 585-271-3361 x213
CAE Defense Fund: 716-359-3061, media@caedefensefund.org

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