Today we’d like to introduce you to Mauro Gatti.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’m based in Los Angeles. My name is Mauro Gatti and I’m an Italian all-around creative guy in love with creating all sorts of other fun stuff. I live a double life, during the day I’m in charge of content creation at the amazing JibJab Studio (download the GifGab app to get a taste of the fun stuff we do); at night I play and experiment with illustration, animation, game design, GIFs and children’s books illustration.
My work is full of humor and I think of my style as iconic and simple, inspired by the illustration of the 60s and 70s. I’m always in company of my inseparable bullmastiff Cyrus and my favorite quote is “A day without laughter is a day wasted” – Charlie Chaplin.
I’ve worked all my life in digital advertising but now I’m more focused on products and make fun stuff to inspire and motivate people to be happy and positive. In 2017 the StoryBots digital redesign that I’ve directed (StoryBots is an amazing multi-platform learning program for children ages 4–8) has been awarded with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Media.
Please tell us about your art.
I love to make people happy with my art and I’ve always valued ideas over style, for the simple reason that great ideas don’t date. I think that what I do can be defined as whimsical, playful and positive (sometimes with a sexual undertone). There’s nothing as heartwarming than a good laugh and I like to think that what I do transcend language and cultural barriers.
I take my inspiration from everyday objects and things that surround us and all I do is giving them life and a quirky and sometimes unexpected personality. I also like to explore different media and technologies and try to bring my family of characters and my humour wherever possible. I’ve worked on videos, games, children’s books, augmented reality projects, editorial projects, installations, mobile content and it’s always exciting to make fun projects for people of different ages and outlets.
My only and true goal is to create something that makes you smile and see things from a different perspective, we’re surrounded by so much negativity that we need to find a new way to see reality through a positive lens.
On that note, The Happy Broadcast, one of my latest projects, is a counter hate and fear culture project that features weekly illustrated positive news from around the world.
What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
We live in a time where doing networking, share your work and access information is fairly easy. An age of disruption of the traditional art business model where artists can use social networks to create an audience and build a successful business (or, for instance, use services like Patron to build a loyal fan base).
But I also think that because we’re constantly bombarded with visual noise and clutter, there’s always less attention and interest to understand the story behind an artwork. And design/illustration trends are so volatile and fast-changing that many artists, in order to survive in the market, are forced to chase the latest trends rather than working on developing their own and unique visual aesthetic.
A city like LA can offer spaces where artists can network, interact and support each other’s. Meet-ups are also an amazing way to connect.
Contact Info:
- Address: Marina Del Rey
- Website: www.maurogatti.com
- Email: talk@maurogatti.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/maurogatti
Image Credit:
Mauro Gatti
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
