‘Discussion, civic involvement and progress’

The Windows of Understanding public art project is in its seventh year this year.

The project brings the Metuchen Arts Council, New Brunswick Community Arts Council, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, the South Plainfield Arts Commission, the Highland Park Arts Commission and ASquared in Rahway together uniting local artists, organizations, and businesses to promote awareness and engagement around social justice and environmental issues impacting local communities.

Building a healthy community was the center of this year’s initiative. In five towns, 20 non-profit organizations and commissions dealing with climate change, food equity, human rights and violence prevention were paired with artist facilitators to create original artwork illuminating local initiatives.

In Metuchen, the Metuchen Arts Council focused on climate change and spotlighted the inter-connected work of the Metuchen Environmental Commission, the Peter Barnes Wildlife Preserve Commission, and the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership. The Metuchen Arts Council and Metuchen Friends of the Arts (FOMA), with a sponsorship from Berkshire Hathaway, commissioned artists to illuminate the services provided to the Metuchen community by these special agencies.

David LaMorte represented the Metuchen Environmental Commission and Joseph Castronova represented the Peter Barnes Wildlife Preservation Commission.

For Castronova, pairing with the Peter J. Barnes Wildlife Preserve brought excitement. It’s a place he has frequented whether it is to bird watch or just take a walk. His charge was to create a piece of art to bring the wildlife preserve to the community.

The Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve is the largest contiguous wetlands in northern Middlesex County. The 1,250-acre preserve is one of the last remaining viable wetland ecosystems in highly urbanized Central New Jersey. The preserve spans portions of Edison, Metuchen and South Plainfield. Middlesex County has preserved more than 120 acres of land within the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, protecting wildlife and wetlands.

The preserve is named after Barnes, a former state senator, Middlesex County superior court judge, and Edison councilman. He passed away in 2021 after a brief battle with cancer. He was instrumental in preserving hundreds of acres of land in the conservation area.

In August 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation renaming the Dismal Swamp and Dismal Swamp Preservation Commission as the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve and the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preservation Committee, respectively.

For research, Castronova met with Walter Stochel, a member of anumber of committees and organizations, including the Edison Township’s Open Space Advisory Committee and a member of the Peter Barnes Preserve Commission.

From discussions, he created a six-foot sculpture of the red trail and depicted a number of wildlife that one can encounter on the trail any given day including: beavers, turkeys, foxes, racoons, garden snakes, box turtles, skunks and woodpeckers.

Castronova said working with the Windows of Understanding brings him outside of his comfort zone as an artist that charges artists to make pieces of art that are visually interesting and brings across a message.

For his artwork, LaMorte spent time meeting with members of the Environmental Commission. After some discussion, he decided to focus on the Middlesex Greenway, a picturesque open space resource within the communities of Metuchen, Edison and Woodbridge.

Situated on a historic portion of Lehigh Valley rail corridor, this 3.5 mile long, 42-acre corridor was purchased by the County of Middlesex in 2002 as a rails-to-trails project for recreational use, according to Middlesex County.

The Middlesex Greenway provides a 10-foot wide, paved trail suitable for walking, biking and jogging. Several fully accessible entrances provide access along the entire length of the trail, connecting a diverse array of neighborhoods to area parks, schools and shopping.

LaMorte linked the Environmental Commission’s discussion of encouraging more and more people to plant native plants in one’s gardens.

“In New Jersey, invasive species do a lot of good for the environment … unfortunately they have the tendency to overgrow an area,” he said, noting not many native plants are along the greenway.

LaMorte, an art teacher, created four black and white paintings – snapshots – of the greenway and chose three native plants and three animals to put in color into the artwork.

Overall, LaMorte and Castronova said Windows of Understanding gives them the opportunity to use and challenge their artistic abilities to support an organization that strives to promote awareness and engagement around social justice and environmental issues impacting local communities.

Since opening in January, their artwork pieces have been on display in the windows of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services – Fox & Roach Realtors and Properties and Merle Norman Cosmetics in adjacent windows at 564 and 556 Middlesex Ave. in Metuchen and will remain on display until the end of April. Student artwork dealing with climate change are also on display inside the offices of Berkshire Hathaway.

In addition to the environmental artwork on display, a walking tour of the Peter Barnes Wildlife Preserve will take place on Saturday, April 20. The tour will be on the trail that was the inspiration for Castronova’s artwork.

Those wishing to take part in the tour should meet at 20 New York Ave. in Edison at 10 a.m. on April 20. Parking is on the street. The tour will be led by Stochel.

Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch said, “Using art to draw attention to solutions to social and environmental problems on a local level leads to discussion, civic involvement and progress. Here in Metuchen, we have welcomed that process year after year through the Windows of Understanding.”

For more information on Windows of Understanding, including a complete list of featured organizations, artists, participating storefronts, and a full calendar of free events, please visit www.windowsofunderstanding.org