"Orbital Paths" by Jennifer Bueno
First employed as an oversimplified, cheerleading buzzword for a globalized economy, the oft-quoted phrase “the world is flat” has come to take on a host of alternate meanings—the kind of open-ended phrase that can be filled with whatever meaning someone wishes it to. The world is flat because it is easier to do business with partners overseas; the world is flat because we can communicate and share experiences with anyone, anywhere, anytime; the world is flat because everywhere is accessible by fast and (relatively) cheap travel or by simply turning on your television; the world is flat because nothing and no one is out of reach. Part of the problem is that there is very little nuance in a phrase like, “the world is flat.” While it may be true that communication is easier and people’s perspective is broadened, what seems equally true is that instead of making people feel bigger, this expansion of perspective actually makes us smaller, almost isolated. The important questions shift from, “how do I get by in the world,” to, “what is my place in the world?” This confused perspective sums up the outlook of Jennifer Bueno’s “Remotely Sensing,” an exhibition that had been on view through the month of April at the Visual Art Exchange’s Annex in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Satellite Organ (detail of Greek Olympic Complex) by Jennifer Bueno
Bueno’s debut solo exhibit, inspired by her investigation of images of the earth from orbiting satelites, derives a great deal of its power from its confrontation with these discrepancies. In her Artist’s Statement Bueno writes, “While visiting websites like NASA’s Earth Observatory, I was constantly reminded of technology and I found myself having affection for satellites like EOS or LANDSAT. […] For me, these images form a distance in time between myself and the world I see.” Her ability to utilize both glass and ceramics (the two disciplines for which she holds MFAs) is incredibly beneficial. White ceramic pieces, sometimes resembling clouds while at other times resembling ice caps, protrude from her sculpted glass bulbs, creating a barrier between the oil paint-etched back of the glass (carefully crafted to resemble a satellite photo) and the viewer, allowing the viewer to see the beautiful, painted glass orb beneath but forces them to remain at a distance. In some pieces the glass aspect is less ornate in favor of more delicately painted ceramics. In one, small ceramic buttons hang suspended on the ends of wires jutting out of a round glass object, the buttons all painted to look like images of a city as seen from the satellite version of Google Maps.
Great Barrier Reef (detail) by Jennifer Bueno
The artistic execution of each piece is impressive and more than sufficiently backs up the weighty subjects they call to mind. The blues are deep and multifaceted, and the oil paint plays with the glass to give the color an otherworldly, almost uncanny, feel. The colors look like colors seen in photos, but never seen in real life.
The exhibit’s most seemingly incongruous piece is also, arguably, its best. Four ceramic circles hang concentrically surrounding one another on a wall, each bejewled by glass balls. The piece, entitled, “Orbital Path,” does indeed resemble a map of the journey of planets take around a star. It also calls to mind another science textbook fixture, a diagram of an atom. One small detail, though, turns this piece into something more. The rings are all linked by small, straight ceramic tubes, signalling interconnectivity. The piece maintains a withdrawn view—perhaps more than any other piece, given the perspective has moved from looking down on Earth to looking down on orbits— but it also feels more personal, as if Bueno is asking us to not forget our sense of connectedness even as our perspectives widen further and further. It’s a very welcome and appropriate last sentiment from Bueno in her debut solo show.
—Jason Gutierrez