A L E K S A N D RA M I R

THE SEDUCTION OF GALILEO GALILEI

Zubair Bhuiyan Seminar 1: The Arts in NYCProf. Corey D’Augustine

“If angels and astronauts share the same sky, isn’t it time they were introduced?”

-Aleksandra Mir

Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967). From The Dream and the Promise, 2009. Collage on board with gold-leaf frame, 17 × 12 3/4 in. (43 × 32.5 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. © Aleksandra Mir

THE EXHIBITION

-Combination of short film and paintings( from Aleksandra Mir’s The Dream and the Promise collection).

-Religious iconography meets space travel

-Where and how do religion and science converge?

-A “conversation” with Galileo Galilei to elucidate this ^

BEFORE AFTER

THE VIDEO

Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967), still from The Seduction of Galileo Galilei, 2011. Video,color, sound; 16:33 min. Commissioned by Mercer Union, Toronto. Collection of the artist, Mary Boone Gallery, New York, and Galeria Joan

LESSONS IN GRAVITY

-A demonstration of gravity becomes much more than a fun experiment

- Is this art?

-Art is fleeting vs. Art captures the moment

-The work that all of these people put into act, only to repeat the act once more.

Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967). From The Dream and the Promise, 2009. Collage on board with gold-leaf frame, 17 × 12 3/4 in. (43 × 32.5 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. © Aleksandra Mir

THE MAN OF SCIENCE

-Galileo

-Social responsibility of the scientist

-Determinism

-Answers to the questions that spirituality can not answer

Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Justus Sustermans painted in 1636. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

THE MAN OF FAITH

Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967). From The Dream and the Promise, 2009. Collage on board with gold-leaf frame, 17 1/2 × 12 3/8 in. (44.5 × 31.5 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. © Aleksandra Mir

-Revelations and miracles are beyond science.

-Religion is the science of life

-“When we look at science and religion are we looking at thesame thing at different stagesof evolution?” -Mark Baker

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SO WHAT?

-Religion is a system of control; what about science?

-Is science a religion? Is religion a science?

-”When we have found all the meanings and lost all the mysteries, we will be alone on an empty shore.” 1

-Can science and technology appease the imagination that strives for so much?1 Arcadia by Tom Stoppard ; Scene six, page 109

CONCLUSION

-The man of science vs. the man of faith => forever locked in struggle

-Science and religion both strive to understand the world

-Mir uses her own form of art to express these ideas in an almost minimalistic way. She uses a form of satire to diffuse the gravity of the debate.

-Do you believe that this is worthwhile art? Yes.