Amanda Maciel Antunes, From Brazil to Los Angeles: A Conversation on Art and Life

Inside the Episode with Mitch Hampton  "Regular listeners to our podcast will note I mention that there are both guests I have known personally and then there are those I have never even met. Amanda sits firmly in the former group as I got to know her through a mutual interest (in my case a most serious hobby): clothes, fashion in general and vintage in particular. We were all part of the same larger artistic community for a good decade centered around a woman named Amy Berkowitz who owned a truly fabulous thrift store (and has since unfortunately passed).  The spirit in Boston at that time - the early to mid 00s - was most generous; people from all walks of life could gather and attend events and parties and feel they were a part of something exciting and there was a real sense of that often overused word community. Still better, since some of the vintage clothing was extremely affordable, and there was this community spirit,  people who maybe did not have as much budget wise were able to get involved as well. When first I met our guest Amanda Maciel Antunes she was from Brazil , working and making her way in a new country and city. What I did not yet know at the time was the full extent of her talents and interests.  She had a passion not only for clothes and design (she works as a costume designer in addition to other projects) but also for performance art and even publishing, as she created a magazine in those years and managed to put out several issues. You could say that Amanda Antunes fits the profile of an all around visionary and producer, the kind of artist who seems able to make things happen successfully not fruition after the initial ideas are developed.  Lately she has  become involved in archiving, as she is part of a project involving the legacy of Anais Nin and the history of Los Angeles, her current and new home.   It is hard for me to accurately and precisely describe the nature of her artistic practice as I feel she expresses these best herself, in her own words, as she did so well on this episode.  Like some other episodes there is a lot to ponder and reflect upon here: the nature of the art scene, immigration, different languages, personal history and  memoir, and probably  even much more. I do hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed the conversation!  Amanda’s Bio  In my artistic practice I’m interested in our perception of language as myth and how the mind manifests them into matter. In a variety of mediums, painting, writing, film, assemblage, sound and performance; my work seeks a conversation between the extremes of selfhood. I was born and raised in a village in rural Brazil named after a ruined river: due to the environmental impacts of mining which directly and indirectly affected its biodiversity. I have always been concerned with the nexus of people and their transitory environment, raised a daughter and granddaughter of farmers to pursue avenues of interrogation and affinity to our habitat. In 2015  I established a residency studio practice in LA and have since been active in the community, in my work as an artist and activist as the co-founder of Nasty Women LA . Links to Amanda’s Beautiful body of work  Website: amandamacielantunes.com  You Tube Recent Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRz1GiARGzA More current projects shared on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandamacielantunes/