Madeleine "Fia" Matsson is an Art Director, designer, illustrator and painter, originally from Sweden. She has a Fine Arts background and studied Digital Media at Hyper Island in Stockholm. She has been working in NYC ever since. Fia's creativity and originality is the perfect inspiration for our Scoopr Brand Ambassadors.
Tell me a little about your background. What brought you from Sweden to NYC?
While I was born in Sweden, I grew up outside of Boston and went to art school in Montreal where I studied primarily painting and drawing. In 2008, I made my way back to my roots and to my studio out in the woods of Sweden. When I moved to Stockholm I discovered Hyper Island where I studied Digital Media for two years. Hyper Island is a really amazing community and network where the motto is “learning by failing.” Once you accept failure there is nothing standing in the way of success.
After various internships, including one with a circus and another in Buenos Aires, I ended up in NYC. Freelancing as an art director and designer within advertisement gave me the freedom to make artwork all the time, but then Foursquare picked me up to be their conceptual designer on their sales team, about a year ago and I have been happily bound to them ever since. I still make time to paint evenings and weekends. Now I need to work on showing at more galleries around the city.
What have you created that you’re most proud of?
The first thing that comes to mind is when I was in Stockholm, right before I left for NYC, I put together an exhibition at an old theater space. It's a huge, beautiful building where the second floor is dedicated to artwork. Being in charge of the content, curation, sponsorship, marketing, and management of it all was a lot of work for one person in a short period of time but I pulled it off with over 200 guests all happily tipsy and buzzed up on red bull. The show was about perspectives and I had one interactive painting that was attached to a board so you could spin it and see it from every angle. The video explains it all.
I see you have a fondness of vultures. How did this come about?
I first discovered them while at a bird showing in Austria. I found them to be so majestic and beautiful while alien like dinosaurs. Yet society depicts them as being evil and disgusting. They are an incredibly necessary part of our ecosystem being natures dumpster divers. For me, they are a symbol of anti-consumerism, making use of what others have left behind.
Their wingspan can be up to 9 feet long so imagine that as they soar above us in the Grand Canyon for miles on end without even flapping their wings. I envy that kind of freedom and like to think about them when I live here like an ant and forget to look up at the buildings framing my existence at the moment.
What would your advice be to the Scoopr Brand Ambassors?
Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and do things differently. Take it as a creative challenge even if you don't feel the strongest connection to the brand. That being said, if you want to make it meaningful, there has to be an artistic element to it and a personal touch, otherwise it probably won’t be interesting. I think the beauty of this app is that people are rewarded for their creativity but be aware of which and why you are promoting a certain brand. Aesthetics and meaning are the strongest combination for powerful content.
For more from Fia, follow her on Twitter and check out her website, madmfia.com.
