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Andi Scurto

Mattie the Giraffe

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Mattie the Giraffe is a mural by Andi Scurto, an award-winning artist, writer, and Destin resident whose rich Colombian heritage and whimsical sense of adventure color her work. When Scurto’s poster featuring her giraffe won the 2015 Mattie Kelly Arts Festival, the character became such a beloved local icon that Destin Brewery even named a beer after her—the Mattie Light.

 

In Mattie the Giraffe, Scurto portrays the lanky protagonist riding a penny-farthing, a type of bike that was popular in the late 19th century. Adding to the work’s fanciful nature, Mattie is being pulled through the skies by three white birds, while other colorful avians form part of the unusual convoy. Is Mattie traveling back in time, as the old-fashioned bike might suggest, guided by helpful homing pigeons? Moreover, where are they taking her, and for what reason? And since when do giraffes, the tallest animals in the world, fly?

 

As viewers, we may not have answers—quite possibly, neither does Mattie—but certainly, like the free-spirited giraffe, every one of us is invited to embrace new horizons and chase seemingly impossible dreams. As Scurto says: “I... want (the mural) to have the message that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can still adventure. Who would have thought that Mattie the Giraffe would ride a bicycle and explore the world?” Who, indeed?

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST Andi Scurto

NEXT MURAL

Tropical Vibes

Tropical Vibes is a commissioned mural by Andrew Wargo and Keith Jette, two artists deeply enmeshed in the local Destin-Fort Walton community. Wargo, a self-taught painter and muralist, has been a juried artist at the Mattie Kelly Art Foundation’s Destin Festival of the Arts for several years running. Keith Jette owns Wicked Paint in Fort Walton Beach and was featured on Skin Wars, a national television show, when his art caught the producers’ attention.

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