Critical Art Ensemble, the effects of a media-oriented defense.

The evolution of the case of Steve Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble, found itself in painful circumstances personal to defend himself by absurd accusations of bioterrorism , has led to a redefinition of the ridiculous accusations as 'petty larceny', ie the theft of animals. At the time Kurtz has restrictions for travel territories, is subject to both random and scheduled visits by a public officer of the court and is also subjected to periodic tests on the intake of drugs. All this represents a step forward, although Kurtz risks still a sum of 40 years in prison for crimes that are at the time the dispute. The forms of protest and solidarity have not been slow to be felt after the tempestico spread of a letter of support written by Eric Kluitenberg (De Balie) and Amanda McDonald Crowley (ISEA). The same was signed by many colleagues and has induced many personal as well as a party to raise funds, put on in London by Arts Catalyst , and a customization of the project Uphone Kate Rich's Bureau of Inverse Technology. called Kurtz Shoutout Line allows you to record directly to a five minute phone call, including streaming audio, then accessible from the network. A collective testimony that adds another piece to the necessary pressure on the authorities made ​​by the international community for a case of prosecution that the Kafkaesque. Finally, as if it were not enough the notices of Kurtz to colleagues and friends, I was issued one to load the publisher Autonomedia who published their texts and that is a historical example of independent publishing and libertarian for several decades in American territory, having given voice in the years to many critics and theorists of new media culture as Hakim Bey, Matthew Fuller and the collective Sarai. An interview with Critical Art Ensemble has been published on 20 of Neural .