The video and artworks by Aleksandra Mir depict a conversation between the artist and Galileo Galilei about the convergence of religion and science. Mir uses religious iconography and depictions of space travel to explore where and how religion and science intersect. The exhibition and video seek to stimulate discussion about the roles of the scientist and religion in understanding the world.

1. THE SEDUCTION OF
GALILEO GALILEI
ALEKSANDRA MIR
Zubair Bhuiyan
Seminar 1: The Arts in NYC
Prof. Corey D’Augustine

2. If angels and astronauts share the same sk
isn’t it time they were introduced?”
-Aleksandra Mir

3. 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

4. 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 ^

5. THE VIDEO
BEFORE AFTER
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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

9. THE MAN OF FAITH
-Revelations and miracles are
beyond science.
-Religion is the science of life
-“When we look at science and
religion are we looking at the
same thing at different stages
of evolution?”
-Mark Baker
-
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

10. 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

11. 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.