In Our Neighborhood – Angel of Death

A couple of weeks ago I was walking down Broadway and I was surprised by this sculpture on the sidewalk. Literally surprised, as due to Covid 19 evasive sidewalk weaving, I almost walked into it. I stepped back and took a look around to try to figure out what it was doing there. Was it connected to the mysterious gym it was in front of – mysterious because all the windows are covered with photographs on blue film and according to the sign on the door even before Covid 19 you had to make an appointment and then text them that you had arrived in order to be let in. Or was it one of the sculptures of the Chicago Sculpture Exhibition that I’d seen around the neighborhood before? Although those usually had a bit more real estate and signs identifying them. I looked around but couldn’t find a sign either near the sculpture or on the gym. Whichever it was I thought she was pretty impressive so I snapped a picture.

The other day I walked by the angel again and this time there was a Chicago Sculpture Exhibition sign in front of it. Turns out it is The Angel of Death by Jack Howard-Potter. I did some googling and found out that the Chicago Sculpture Exhibition (CSE) is a 501c3 organization whose mission is to bring art to neighborhoods. The organization puts out a call to artists each year. The juried selections are installed for a year and the artists receive a stipend. CSE is funded by private sector contributions and The Angel of Death is sponsored by East Lake View Neighbors which I guess explains the location.