Critical Art Ensemble

1986–1990

Formed in 1986, CAE's focus has been on the exploration of the intersections between art, critical theory, technology, and political activism. In 1986, Steve Kurtz and Steve Barnes began a collaboration to make low-tech videos with students. They credited each person who contributed to the productions under the signature of Critical Art Ensemble. Original members also included Hope Kurtz, Dorian Burr, Claudia Bucher and George Barker.[2] In 1987, the group's first multimedia exhibitions were held at Club Nu in Miami and Pappy's Lounge in Jackson, Mississippi. Buchner and Barker departed in 1988, and the group transformed into a broad-based artist and activist collective with six core members: Steve Kurtz, Barnes, Burr, Hope Kurtz, Beverly Schlee, and Ricardo Dominguez.[2] The group's first events were produced in 1988: Political Art In Florida? in collaboration with Group Material, and Frontier Production in collaboration with Thomas Lawson. In 1988-89, CAE begin to release their books of plagiarist text poetry (of which there are six in all). In 1989, the group collaborated with Gran Fury to release Cultural Vaccines, a multimedia event in Tallahassee, Florida, which critiques U.S. policy on HIV. In 1990, the group collaborated with Prostitutes of New York to create Peep Show which premiered at Window on Gaines in Tallahassee, Florida.

Performance style

In its performances, CAE creates various performative identities, such as that of a group of scientists or a corporation. Instead of using fancy, high-tech machinery they use 'high school lab equipment as well as common household supplies and groceries',[6] which brings the scientific difficulty down to a level at which the public can understand and engage with because the worlds of science and technology in the modern world are 'increasingly privatised'.[6] This playful style, however, contrasts with the groups numerous books and manifestos which have an analytical focus.[6]

Nicola Triscott is the founder of The Arts Catalyst. In her writings about the CAE, she states that their participatory theatre 'aims to involve the public in the processes of biotechnology in order to contribute to the development of an informed and critical public discourse on contemporary bioscience'.[7]

Steve Kurtz's Trial

In 2004, one of its founders, Steve Kurtz, was arrested on suspicion of bioterrorism.[20] On the morning of 11 May 2004, he woke to find that his wife Hope had died in her sleep. He called 911. Police became suspicious after noticing his biology lab which he kept in his own home. They contacted the FBI and Kurtz was detained for 24 hours before being interrogated and his house searched for biohazardous materials. The house was given the all clear, yet a week later, Kurtz's CAE collaborators were ordered to appear before a grand jury to investigate possible violations of the law regarding biological weapons. The jury met in July 2004 and cleared Kurtz of all "bioterrorism" charges, however the FBI continued to press charges against the artist and the case dragged on for four years.[21] The case was widely covered in the US and international press, and sparked outrage among artists and scientists worldwide. A website was created for people to donate money to help Kurtz pay his mounting legal fees. The case was dismissed in 2008.[22] According to Nicola Triscott, the FBI 'thought they had a situation out of which they could manufacture a terrorism case, which potentially brought great personal rewards', based upon the 'Lackawanna Six Sleeper Cell' case where six Yemeni Americans were convicted of supporting al-Qaeda