We recently connected with Matteo Guastamacchio and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Matteo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
This is an exceptionally hard question to answer… It’s probably important to qualify “regular job”. I will assume we’re talking about nine-to-five’s, punch in punch out for The Man. Being a creative professional oftentimes requires you to work on projects that are deeply unrewarding and draining. We give so much of ourselves when we create. Though these projects are unrewarding, if you’re strategic, you can utilize the opportunity to your advantage in a myriad of ways. Either way, you’re doing what you love and what you’re good at. Whereas, in a 9-5, you’re often fulfilling tasks. Your personal skill growth and creative strengthening has to happen off hours, when you’re tired and done. The tradeoff is the stability of a steady income with benefits. As creatives, our external life can be turbulent and unpredictable, sometimes even bleeding into our own consciousness, creating mental health issues. However, you can be smart about it. By receiving good counsel or mentorship, and especially by seeking therapy on some level, there’s a good chance you’ll be okay. The possible flip side might be worse. Working a 9-5 that sucks you dry, leaving you purposeless. Who knows, that CEO might even decide to make cuts that you have no control over. I’ve seen it happen to creative friends of mine. It’s awful. There goes security. I’m happy that I am a creative, but it’s very hard to remember my value when creative work is so poorly budgeted and paid. So yeah, I definitely do wonder what it would be like to have a “regular job” to alleviate stress and anxiety, but mostly manifested as an internal argument.
There’s no easy answer here. I respect and admire either decision a creative professional chooses. They both have risks and rewards. It’s a deeply independent and difficult path to being a creative professional.
Go hug a creative and remind them of how valuable they are.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Authentic expression and connection are at the core of why I do what I do, a craft I’ve been honing for most of my life. I’m Matteo Guastamacchio, a filmmaker, music producer and artist from Nashville. Raised around art, by artists, I was never a conventional thinker. I almost failed high school when I was a kid, but, believing I can succeed, my teachers tailored my final exams to my strengths. I produced a song I wrote, drew a movie poster, filmed a short film, and created a comic. These teachers didn’t just help me pass; they set me on my creative path. A path of constant tension — balancing creative integrity with deadlines and bills. Calling it ‘challenging’ feels trite because even when it’s not in my best interest, I have a compulsion to create. But it motivates me to make art that resonates in a world dominated by content. To me, ‘content’ is not king — it’s just the parts of something that lack value on their own. I have a different approach. I merge my disciplines together to find new depths. Always creatively problem solving — looking for a fresh and unique perspective. My clients expect a dedication and focus unique only to an obsessive creative. This is why I work with people and brands that value authenticity, creativity, and quality, creating art through partnerships and collaborations that truly matter.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
In today’s world, art and creativity often feel undervalued. We’re surrounded by a wealth of it. Streaming services offer vast libraries at the cost of an album or a movie ticket a month. You can rip a painting off of google and print it yourself. Never even knowing a thing about the artist who created it. Never before have artists been so visible to so many, yet met with such widespread apathy. It’s not just AI to blame; this trend predates it. Ai and ‘content’ are the byproducts. Fast ‘content’, digestible and repeatable, for views and likes, vying for your attention. I wonder if we’ve lost the point and I’m not sure we can turn this around. However, if you like an artist and their work, express it. Attend their art show and tell them how much you appreciate their work — your presence alone is invaluable. Love a band or artist? Buy their album, see them live. Enjoy an actor or director’s work? Purchase movie tickets or the film itself. Art is a vulnerable expression of what’s internal. Making it is incredibly hard, grueling, painful at times. It’s more than a full-time job and most of us don’t even show anyone the majority of our work because of how vulnerable it is. The work we do show, most often, we give it away. The tide may not completely turn — I still use Spotify and Netflix — but giving back makes a difference. Not just consuming.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Creatively, I think it’s super important to have motivating goals. If I’m not careful, when I don’t, I can easily get lost inside the process of a script, a song, a painting, etc. No matter what it is, I see the potential and the possibilities but not a way out. I just exist in the world in front of me… happily creating. I lose track of time, I don’t eat, I don’t sleep. It’s not good. Having a significant other helps ground me and mitigate all of that. She keeps me accountable but always cheers me on, fully and relentlessly believing in me. In no small part, because of her, as well as my family and my friends, I’m working on a series of personal projects that build upon each other. Each one is a step towards a larger vision that I’ve been tirelessly developing for more than 5 years. It’s a story I’m so excited to share. This singular goal drives me and keeps me focused. Without it motivating me, I’d be in the creative aether.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/createdbyteo
- Youtube: youtube.com/@teomultimedia1778
- Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user91282492 Spotify Playlist of music I’ve produced: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4y2r2eidJczFugQSJvHjSE?si=3d5e516b22ce4e80 Film Scores I’ve composed: https://artlist.io/royalty-free-music/artist/teo/573 Art I’ve created: https://society6.com/teomultimedia