It may be winter, but there's a splash of springtime color in Warren.
The brightly-colored traffic control box on the southeast corner of Mount Bethel Road and Mountain Boulevard features a reproduction of a photograph by Somerset artist Vivian Bedoya. Her photograph—"The Rumor Mill"—was selected by the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission last year during a competition aimed at sprucing up public spaces with works by local artists.
The commission's public art project, called "Gallery 24/7" placed the work of 10 Somerset County artists on traffic control boxes throughout the county. It was deemed so successful, the commission will be seeking a fresh round of applications in February for placement on county property during the summer.
In the meantime, Bedoya's photograph of tulips and a bee are giving commuters a view of what to look forward to as the seasons change. After December's blizzard, Bedoya stopped by to take a look at how the box decorated with her photograph looked.
"I've been looking forward to seeing how it would look buried in snow," she said.
Bedoya is a self-taught fine arts photographer specializing in nature photography. "I spend quite a bit of time in the gardens and parks of our beautiful Garden State."
The photo featured on the traffic box in Warren was taken at the Cross Estate Garden, on Old Jockey Hollow Road in Bernardsville, in May 2009. Bedoya said she noticed the parrot tulips in the photo are bending towards each other, looking like a group of women talking.
"I imagined them to be gossiping," she said. "Upon closer examination, I noticed a bee hovering near one of the tulips and in my mind, it was bringing the scandalous news! I named the image 'The Rumor Mill' and it has become one of my favorites."
To see more of Bedoya's artwork, visit her Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/viviansville ("The Rumor Mill" can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/viviansville/3575828575/in/set-72157603967023007").
Somerset County is seeking a new round of inspired ideas for this year's Gallery 24/7. Interested artists may conveniently download the formal Call for Artists/Guidelines by visiting the county’s website at www.co.somerset.nj.us/2011photogal/tcb.html Submission deadline is June 30.
Artworks will be selected this year, reproduced on a special vinyl adhesive film and professionally applied to county-owned TCBs in late summer.
A companion brochure for this initiative, indentifying and highlighting featured artworks and artists, will be widely distributed to provide greater visibility for New Jersey artists and to encourage cultural tourism.
“We are very proud to showcase the talents of New Jersey artists throughout our communities where their artwork is accessible to everyone as they go about their daily lives,” said Freeholder Patrick Scaglione, liaison to the SCC&HC. “Their artwork has successfully transformed mundane traffic-control equipment into extraordinary works of art for public enjoyment.”
For further information, contact SCC&HC Manager Pat McGarry at 908-203-6020 or CulturalHeritage@co.somerset.nj.us
