By Somerset County Board of Freeholders
The Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission has announced its third year of providing accessible original art in non-traditional venues for public enjoyment through its public-art project, Gallery 24/7: Art on Traffic Control Boxes, by adding five new original artworks in Warren and Bridgewater townships.
“Art installations on a total of 22 traffic control boxes throughout Somerset County have allowed us to expand the reach and access of the arts for the enjoyment of thousands of commuters and pedestrians as they go about their daily travels,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Peter S. Palmer, the commission’s liaison. “This creative project also has expanded exhibition opportunities for talented New Jersey artists and provided a viable graffiti deterrent, while welcoming and encouraging tourism to Somerset County.”
Since the initiation of this public-art project in 2010, 123 New Jersey artists from 17 different counties have submitted a total of 289 art images for consideration through a competitive and professionally juried process.
This year’s selected artists, their works and locations are as follows:
Vivian Bedoya of Somerset for two selected art works, On the Fence, installed by the corner of North Bridge Street and Woodlawn Avenue, Bridgewater, and Pink Rhododendrons at the corner of Mountain Boulevard and Old Stirling Road in Warren.
Cheryl Chapin of Basking Ridge, who is also an adult art student at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center’s Arts Access Program,for Lights in a Far Off Galaxy, installed at the corner of Mountain Avenue and Stirling Road in Warren.
Deborah Stair of Middlesex County for Stone Planter, installed at the corner of Washington Valley Road and Promenade Boulevard in Warren.
Donna Ash, a Native American artist from Gloucester County, for Two Panthers in the Rain Forest, installed at the corner of North Bridge Street and Vogt Drive in Bridgewater.
A surprise feature for 2012: One of this year’s selected artworks – Two Panthers in the Rain Forest – was designed specifically to pop into 3-D when viewed through ChromaDepth 3-D glasses. Coincidentally, some of the other featured artworks also pop into 3-D when viewed through the same glasses. This is due to the juxtaposition of specific colors of the spectrum, adding a new dimension and delightful surprise to this year’s project. Why not get a pair of inexpensive cardboard ChromaDepth 3-D glasses and have some fun traveling around to look at each of the boxes up close to see if you can identify which of the artworks pop into 3-D?
Visit http://bit.ly/ArtTCBs2012 for locations of all 22 artful traffic control boxes and to learn more about this public-art project and the selected artists.
This project has been made possible, in part, by the N. J. State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Local Arts Program Grant; the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholder; and Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Source of funding for this grant comes from dedicated Hotel /Motel Occupancy Tax via state legislation (2003), which provides for a stable, renewable source for state funding of the arts, history and tourism. Cultural grants awarded by the NJSCA are supported by this revenue so the NJ taxpayer does not pay for public support of the arts through property, sales or income tax.

