My name is Ava Matteucci and I am an 18-year-old student at New York University from St. Louis.

 

 My main concentration is on film. I like to think of my film work as abstract self-portraits and short stories. I visualize all of my films as a dance of sorts. I love to show how human movement can change preexisting meanings in a musical piece. I do this by using techniques I gained as a dancer to choreograph my subjects to pull subtle rhythms and lyrics into focus.  All my movies (on this site) are entirely directed, filmed, choreographed, and edited by me.

 

 

When it comes to painting, conceptually, I began almost always began with a focal portrait of a recognizable figure or cultural group within a contradicting setting. 

     My art's purpose is to embody contemporary issues that I am impassioned by, into a platform meant for an audience of directly opposing ideologies. I create my art to achieve my overarching goal of bringing people together into topics they perhaps otherwise would refuse to engage in.

      In today’s society, we find ourselves so ridden by our differences that we let them tear us away from crucial conversation and debate. In this, we are creating a society at an impasse, a society without progress. To me, my paintings become my “civic duty” to combat this impasse. 

 

 

Lastly, my photography is something more experimental for me. Most (but not all) of my photography is done "street-style" where my subjects are strangers I capture in their day-to-day life. Its purpose is to reveal a more organic depiction of human nature than the artificially constructed photography we so often see today. As far as my process, I love to challenge myself to photograph in the setting that I am already in, recognizing beauty instead of seeking it elsewhere.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my message to you and continue to support my art through sharing my website (which I am weekly updating with new content so come back!), subscribing to my YouTube, and following my Instagram (both linked below!)

 

With Love,

Ava