Looking through our first issue of Angels on Earth magazine, back in September/October 1995, I rediscovered Jill D’Agnenica.
In 1993, this community-minded artist made and distributed 4,687 magenta plaster angels throughout Los Angeles. Figuring the city measures 468.7 square miles, she put 10 angels in each and every one—downtown, the barrio, the freeways, Watts. There were angels, literally, everywhere. They were numbered on the bottom, and their exact placement recorded.
By project’s end, Jill was left with a giant map of the city covered with photographs of all the angels in their individual drop-off spots. It was a good thing, too. Because the actual angel statues disappeared into the hands of their finders, “adopted” by the lucky ones who came across the surprise blessing. Which was Jill’s plan all along. “These angels are my prayers of peace for the people of Los Angeles,” Jill told Angels on Earth.
Five years later, Jill walked into a coffee shop and looked up to find one of her magenta angels smiling down on her from the rafters. The blessing she had surprised thousands with had now come back to her.
Click here to see more pictures of Jill’s angels.
