Notable Press
"I think that conversations about lived experiences, about intersectionality, about where we belong and in what categories other people see us and in what categories we see ourselves, need to be part of that nuanced discussion about where do women fit in? And where are these new spaces where we can now inhabit?" Matthews said.
"The exhibit that is shaking up the landscape movement is now open to the public." Savannah Sellers
"The purpose of a sculpture or a statue is usually to literally put someone up on a pedestal. The discussion is who are you idolizing and why?" Amanda Matthews
"'One of the things I’ve been told,' Matthews said, 'or heard through the construction fence more than anything else, are people who walk up and say, ‘Oh my gosh, that looks like me.’ That was especially true for Cutia Bacon Brown, who was the inspiration for one of the statues. 'She put braids on the statue!' Brown said of Matthews, her longtime friend. 'I have braids in my hair every day and the statue has braids!' ... 'I will be immortalized, on a world stage, as a Black woman in America,' Brown said. 'And how often does that happen?'"
"Men dominate the field of large-scale sculpture, especially," said Ms. Matthews, "when it comes to the foundries, metal suppliers and engineers." But women such as Ms. Matthews are challenging the norm and pursuing projects honoring women.
The Girl Puzzle listed 3rd of 9 worldwide projects: "Bly's work is being commemorated with the unveiling of The Girl Puzzle, a sculptural installation by artist Amanda Matthews of Prometheus Art. Appropriately situated on Roosevelt Island, the series will debut this summer and will feature five seven-foot tall female faces, including one representative of Bly. According to the artist’s statement, each bronze-cast piece 'shows the depth of emotion and complexity of being broken and repaired,' a challenge that Bly overcame at the asylum."
"The memorial features several figures around a central column that supports a giant reflecting sphere containing the state’s motto and seal. Matthews said the memorial reflects 'the ideals, visual symbols and embodiment of the phrase ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall.’'... “I hope that all Kentuckians can come to this memorial and to see what they did to help us to get through this and to get through it together,” the governor said Wednesday."
Ms. Matthews said she had been inspired by the persistence shown by Ms. Dunnigan, who died in 1983. “I think we should have more diverse heroes, and Alice Dunnigan should be one of them,” she said.
Read More:
Featured on the cover of the University of Louisville's Alumni Magazine, Amanda Matthews and her work received a multi-page spread titled "Casting Her Mark," which can be found in the Fall/Winter 2023 edition of UofL Magazine. "In the heart of Kentucky, gifted sculptor Amanda Matthews '90 breathes life into metal, creating poignant monuments that transcend memorials," writes author Kaela Dickerman. Matthews is later quoted in the article: "I hope to dot the landscape with monuments, icons and symbols that help people find common ground - (pieces) that speak truth to power, that question systems of oppression, that dare greatly and allow us to have discussions and build things that are more inclusive."
Spread across pages 28 to 42, Amanda Matthews and Brad Connell's feature in Keeneland Magazine's Spring 2023 issue offers a comprehensive look into Prometheus Art, both the business side and the personal side. With 4 pages dedicated to the couple's impressive and self-designed home, the rest of their story winds through some of Matthews' work, including sculpture of journalist Alice Dunnigan, her largest work, The Girl Puzzle monument in New York City, and her most recent work, the state of Kentucky's COVID Memorial monument. What quickly becomes clear is her dedication to building installations that offer sites of healing and transformation for viewers. Above all, they are both committed to the power of public art and its potentials for community building.
Amanda Matthews is featured on pages 106-107 in the recent Garden and Gun book, Southern Women: More than 100 Stories of Innovators, Artists, and Icons. Among other glimpses into her personal and professional life, Amanda discusses what sculpture means to her: "Sculpture was born out of my need to have more depth in my paintings. Once I started sculpting, I thought, 'Wow, where have you been all my life? I feel at home--all the things people say when they've found their calling.' ... I didn't realize how male-dominated the field was. When I became an owner of the foundry, I just thought, 'This is a business.' I didn't realize I'd be, as my father says, 'as rare as hen's teeth' in this industry."
THE GIRL PUZZLE
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New York, "Governor Hochul Announces Opening of Girl Puzzle Monument Honoring Nellie Bly"
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Fodor's Travel, "These are the World's Most Enormous Art Installations"
KENTUCKY COVID MEMORIAL
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Governor Andy Beshear announces, "Kentucky artist Amanda Matthews to construct permanent Team Kentucky COVID-19 Memorial"
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Lexington Herald-Leader, "Memorial to Kentuckians Lost to COVID Pandemic will be Dedicated in Frankfort"
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Spectrum News, "New COVID-19 Memorial Dedicated at the Kentucky Capitol"
NETTIE DEPP
ALICE DUNNIGAN
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The Washington Post, "The first black female White House reporter had to pawn her watch every week just to eat"
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BBC World News Service, "The ‘hidden’ work of pioneering journalist Alice Allison Dunnigan"
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NPR, All Things Considered, "Alice Dunnigan, First Black Woman To Cover White House, Gets Statue"
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The Hill Reporter, "First Black Female Journalist to Cover White House will be Honored with Statue in D.C."
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Poynter. – "‘The Mother of a Movement’: First black woman White House correspondent is finally getting recogniton"
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AP News Washington, "First black female White House reporter gets Newseum statue"
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USA Today, "Black Journalist Alice Dunnigan is an inspiration to journalists like me"
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American History TV – C-SPAN3, "African American Journalist Alice Dunnigan presentation at Truman Library and Museum" (Presented 15 minutes of content)