''Compass'' is a

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

work by American artist Gail Simpson, located on the east side of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The painted aluminum sculpture was commissioned by the Eastside Business Improvement District #20 to serve as a gateway for pedestrians and vehicular traffic entering the North Avenue commercial zone. A tall stainless steel light post salvaged from the demolition of Milwaukee's

Park East Freeway In Milwaukee, freeways were constructed in response to an 8.5% increase in population during the 1940s. Road plans were drawn up in the 1950s through the 1970s and several freeways were built. A lack of foresight resulted in several communities ...

is surrounded by a colorful array of painted aluminum signs that protrude in a spiral formation. Each sign has a distinctive shape and word cut out in a unique typeface intended to reflect the history and character of the neighborhood. The artwork is located in the traffic median on the east side of the North Avenue Bridge. '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' architecture critic Whitney Gould called the project, "part sculpture, part signpost."

References

Aluminum sculptures in Wisconsin Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee 2003 sculptures {{Public-art-stub