All Over Albany

"Strange Culture" in Troy

The leap from artist/professor to alleged national security threat isn't as far as you might think. You can find out how far on Friday at The Sanctuary for Independent Media's screening of "Strange Culture," which follows the story of University of Buffalo Professor Steven Kurtz.

Kurtz's legal problems began in 2004 when police noticed Petri dishes and other lab equipment in his home. The University of Buffalo professor and avant-garde artist had called 911 to report his wife's death. When officers arrive they discovered bacteria and equipment, suspected bioterrorism and called in federal investigators. The bacteria were part of Kurtz's work with the Critical Art Ensemble, an arts group focused on government policy on issues like cloning and genetically modified foods.

Autopsy results found that Hope Kurtz died of natural causes, but that didn't help her husband. Steven Kurtz was arrested on mail and wire fraud charges for getting two kinds of bacteria through the mail from a professor in Pittsburgh.

He's been fighting the charges ever since, a fight that's been documented in Lynn Hershman Leeson's "Strange Culture." Troy's Sanctuary for Independent Media, which has had it's own legal problems of late, is sponsoring a screening of the film Friday night. Because their regular venue is still shuttered, the event is being held in the Christ Church United Methodist at 35 State Street in Troy at 7 p.m.

Kurtz will be there to answer questions after the film. Admission is by donation -- $10 suggested, $5 student/low income -- and all the money will go toward paying for Kurtz's accumulating legal fees.

illustration: Timothy Stock and Warren Heiss / Strange Culture