Comments on: Sacred Artist Interview: Matthew Whitney

By: Bette

Bette — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:53:28 +0000

dear Matthew and Christine….sorry i didn’t reply sooner. Matthew, your art is so very beautiful and expressive and i like your pallet of colors.

I like your statement, “There is something higher that motivates us, moves us; something further than what we can see in front of us, but we know in our hearts its there.”

thank you so much for sharing and inspiring us!

By: theology student

theology student — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:52:53 +0000

as a native californian, i’ve always jumped at the chance to visit seattle/the pacific northwest whenever possible…now that i’ve seen matthew’s paintings i have another reason to come & explore!

i love the theology that although the world was broken from sin, it has been redeemed through Christ…and therefore still good and beautiful…it takes a more positive perspective than one that dismisses the beauty and goodness inherent in God’s creation, in both man and nature…

also, i like the connection between spirituality and creativity…as a theology student who is interested in the arts, i couldn’t imagine a world or life without the expression of our God-given creative gift…& i find the definition of the spiritual as essentially natural and human to be meaningful…it brings to mind the incarnation of Christ, in which God became human to be near to us and identify with us, connecting us to Him…

in terms of the role of spirituality in the practice of making art…i also appreciate the definition that it is an awareness of our humanity…not only does art bring us a step closer to God, it heightens our awareness of the experience of being human…

i like hearing the story of how matthew came to be an artist…it is inspiring to me because i’ve always been drawn to music, art, and writing since i was young…when i made the decision to come to seminary i still had a longing to pursue the arts…& now that i have the opportunity to combine or connect the two great passions of my life of God and art i feel as if it is a unique gift…

the paintings have such an ethereal quality, but also seem immediate and real at the same time…the vivid red color and dark shadows in “fear” really do evoke the emotions of dread and feeling of pain…”save us” depicts a complex picture of faith, with the worshiping believers, angels and the tree of life…the floating sheep in “the sleep of faith” give the impression of careless slumber…

By: Suz

Suz — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:04:10 +0000

Thanks Matt and Christine for some really unique art and words. I enjoyed it a lot.

By: Tess

Tess — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:56:37 +0000

Another great interview, Christine.
Matthew, I love your comment about the combination of our senses with the soul to achieve awareness, and the strong cup of coffee image is fantastic – I’ll hold that one with me.

By: lucy

lucy — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:53:54 +0000

thanks for introducing us to matthew. evidently his work will also be shown at mars hill grad school beginning november 10 he was part of “the vancouver project” and i remember reading about that too. so cool to make these connections. it would not be possible without these great artist interviews!

one last thought…i wonder if the little birdies ever consider their nests to be art? i certainly do!