A smiling face in downtown Plattsburgh represents an uplifting message for everyone who sees it. It’s the twelfth completed mural from Outside Art: Public Art Project, and the friendly grin belongs to astronaut Michael Anderson.
Michael Anderson was a United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut who was born in Plattsburgh. Anderson and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Anderson served as the payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia. Anderson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Artist activists Amy Guglielmo and Julia Devine founded Outside Art in 2016.
Enjoy Spotlight producer Paul Larson’s chat with Devine about the mural, supplemented by insight from muralist Brendon Palmer-Angell.
Palmer-Angell, originally from Plattsburgh and now based in New Orleans, painted “Reach for the Stars! The Michael Anderson Mural” on the side of the Westelcom Building on 23 Durkee Street. The artist has made a name for himself creating murals around the world. In October 2019, he painted the Jean Arthur Mural in Plattsburgh.
Palmer-Angell said, “While speaking with Michael Anderson’s wife, Sandy, I learned that he was just the kind of person his smiling photos portray — someone with a deep sense of kindness, respect, and humility, despite his many achievements and brilliance.”
Learn more about the muralist at brendonart.com.
Spotlight is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park. Spotlight is also supported by Hill and Hollow Music.