ABOUT MATTHEW LINDEN KING

Art is all around us, and creativity is sewn alongside the thread of existence. I create because it is instinctive within me to do so. To create is to believe in truth, and my desire to do so is not something I must conjure but something I must refuse. My recent work has been an exploration of this reality as I have attempted to express it through a new-found, rudimentary media: electrical tape. Using tape to create a piece of art has great significance to me because it represents the commonality that everyday things have in relation to art.

My eye is drawn naturally to everyday objects. Objects represent an intrinsic connection to the life I live and compose its significance to a great extent. My approach is not materialistic but metaphorical. I have always noticed my surroundings and have been curious about their makeup and significance, and that curiosity lends itself well in my current work. I have found that everyday objects become significant in some manner to everyone, and our interaction with them builds a subconscious connection to the object, which in turn enhances or detracts from our view of life around us. For instance, take away my favorite coffee cup, and I find for some strange reason that coffee suddenly becomes more than a bland drink and is in fact an experience. Coffee is now a vital part of my daily routine and is enhanced by my favorite cup that contains it.

I also find much spiritual significance in everyday objects. They represent a sort of common grace as they add to the connection I have to the life I live. A chair is no longer a chair when viewed under a lens of faith. Every time I sit in a chair, I am subconsciously exercising faith in that chair’s ability to support me, and I never think about it because almost every chair I have ever sat in has supported me. We are all creatures of faith, even if our faith is in our lack of faith; it is inescapable; therefore, things in our lives—be they physical or metaphysical—are always shaping our beliefs and experiences, and most of them I am willing to bet are subconscious.

Everyday objects point to truth. They are the wide brim of a funnel that ultimately leads to a decision between ultimate truth or relative morality. Documenting the significance of everyday objects in my life is a reminder to me that truth exists and that truth can be found in something as simple as a paper clip.

A JACK INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW LINDEN KING

What was your first experience with art?

I remember vividly my first actual encounter with art.  I was around eight or nine years old when my family was eating at a local Shoney's.  They had a coloring contest going on and I took the coloring sheet home with me to work on it.  I used colored pencils and took my time.  My dad showed me how to shade by applying different amounts of pressure to the pencils.  I insisted I do it myself.  I returned the coloring sheet a couple days later and I ended up winning the contest!  My prize was a two foot tall Shoney's bear.

What is your favorite medium & why?

I enjoy all forms of media that lend themselves to creativity, but I do find myself gravitating toward oil paints.  They are very kinesthetic for me and I've always been attracted by their malleability.  I really hope to embrace new media in the future, and I think my current fascination with electrical tape as a medium is a somewhat cathartic release of this desire.

What style are you most drawn to? Does it ever change & if so, why?

I really enjoy expressionism.  It stirs something in me that cringes and pleases simultaneously.  There is such a range of emotion found in expressionism.  I could see my style in the future evolving into a more dramatic abstraction, but I think I'll always be expressionistic at heart.

Have you always been an artist or is this a career change?

I have been teaching middle school art since I graduated from Valdosta State University in 2003. Although I enjoy teaching and am grateful for the opportunity, it is not ultimately why I went to school.  I would hardly call my artistic endeavors at this point a career, but I would really like to be at that point sometime soon.  My life is very immersed in the creative process; whether it is tackling a project around the house, teaching art, or creating a piece myself, art is slowly manufacturing permanent roots in me that will inevitably spread.

Have you ever taken classes/courses?

Yes.  I have a BFA in art from Valdosta State University.  It was actually while in school at VSU that I took my first real art class.  It had always been a fun hobby until that point, but I never thought I could be good at it.  For two years prior to college, I worked in a grocery store creating signage and banners for the store.  While there, I worked under a great artist who encouraged me to pursue art in school.  I took him up on his advice and signed up for a Drawing I class.  The rest is history in the making!

What do you want your art to accomplish or describe?

I always want my art to be more than meets the eye.  Although that sounds a bit cliched, my desire is to communicate my belief system and worldview into my work in such a way that the viewer is led to truth.  In that sense, I don't leave my work so open to interpretation that my original thought process is nullified by the viewer.  Many people look at artwork attempting to find or even create some sort of truth from it (though I would argue that truth cannot be created).  While that is always a great ambition, the inherent problem with that is that most people won't come to the same end; therefore, truth is not established as such.  I think about a dog that smells his dinner from so far away.  Although he cannot see it, the inescapable scent of its presence leads him to find it and partake.  That is the essence of my work.

Art programs are being cut all over the nation in schools - what's your opinion on this?

I have felt (and am feeling) first hand the pinch of the economy in the arts. As a middle school art teacher, my budget has been sliced in half and my resources made scarce.  Unfortunately, it is the reality of life.  Robert Motherwell said, "Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it."  Most of society--and especially education--only hears the former half of that statement and leaves teachers and artists like me to sort out the latter.  Despite the overwhelming evidence that creativity is essential to human development, it never makes it onto standardized tests so is deemed irrelevant by many. The only response that I feel is proper is to continue to create.  No matter what.

Where is your favorite place to create?

My favorite place to create is in a studio at night.  There is no doubt that my greatest inspiration comes when the sun has set.

Which comes first - the inspiration or the medium?

Most of the time it is inspiration over medium, although occasionally the medium inspires.  I get excited when I discover a new medium to use and it usually leads to a greater way to communicate what inspires me. 

How has your work changed over time?

For someone who is not an artist to view my work, they may say that it has been deconstructed over time. I feel, however, that I have been freed more and more as of late to release a store of expression in my work.  To me, there are greater risks but greater rewards found in expressionism.  My work has evolved, as well, into a more concentrated approach--singling out the inanimate object to reveal its often overlooked character and significance.  I used to be more concerned about communicating skill than communicating an idea, but I feel that the idea is slowing taking precedence.

If somebody was standing in front of one of your works, is there anything you'd want to tell them?

I really enjoying talking about my work with viewers and expounding on what they see in front of them.  It's always interesting to hear people's views on my work.  On one hand, it is unavoidably obvious, but on another it is intricately involved.  Many people know exactly what I'm trying to say and many have no clue.  I'm almost always willing, however, to tell them exactly what they want or need to know.

Do you have a favorite piece you've done?

The next one.  

Can you draw a perfect circle freehand?

I can get pretty darn close.