Near the back of the Art and Design Building, down the hallways, past a studio and down a narrow flight of steps is an office with no air conditioning. A small, square fan hums as its blades turn, blowing air to a portion of the room.

Matthew Burke sits at his computer. His red shirt is flaked with sawdust. A computer screen displays images of his smiling 3-year-old son, Angus.

Burke, assistant professor of art, teaches sculpture and drawing. Earlier in his career, he worked primarily with steel materials, but now he works mostly with wood.

“It’s a journey,” Burke said. “And how that unfolds is me sitting down in the shop with that material, figuring out what it can do and what it won’t do for me. And it’s a discussion. The wood tells me that it doesn’t want to do this, but it will do that.”

Burke had just returned a few days earlier from Midland, Mich., where he was awarded the Alden B. Dow Creativity Fellowship by Northwood University for his artistic contributions. Burke said his interest in pursuing a career in art was natural.

“Mostly it’s a drive to understand my story and the story of the world that I live in,” he said.

Road to KU

Burke, 40, went to high school in Rockville, Conn. He grew up drawing pictures and cartoons. In 1987 at Colby College in Maine, Burke took a foundations course in art. His instructor told him he drew like a sculptor and encouraged him to watch a sculpture class.

“I took to it the minute I walked in the room,” Burke said.

A few years later he graduated with a master’s of fine arts degree from Queens College in New York. There he met his wife, Melissa, who now teaches drawing at the University of Kansas. After graduate school, Burke spent one semester at Dartmouth College as a visiting professor.

“I had been interested in exploring teaching, and I found it tremendously challenging,” Burke said. “But I also found it very rewarding. You give a tremendous amount, but you get back more in many, many ways. I have always kind of wanted to be in a profession where I could impact people’s lives directly.”

Burke’s artwork has been displayed at many shows and exhibits, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Arts Incubator in Kansas City. In all, Burke spent 10 years in New York — two of them teaching art at St. John’s University — before coming to the University in Fall 2005.

“I remember coming the day for the interview and meeting the students,” Burke said. “The students had a tremendous impact on me. We clicked that afternoon.”

When he critiqued the students’ work during the trip, the quality of art impressed him.

“It was coming here and making that connection,” Burke said. “And seeing the size of this department and the changes that I could come and bring to it. We decided this is where we would come to and start my new life.”

Building success

As an educator Burke learned to be flexible and told students they were in charge of their own work, not him.

“As a teacher you have to change hats,” Burke said. “You have to talk about a broader picture of art like, ‘Where do ideas come from? What drives them to make art?’ Because what’s important, and the primary goal of teaching, is that you get the student to understand that they are the authors of their own work. They’re the ones who are in control of all the decisions that they make.”

Bryan Park, Greenville, S.C., graduate student in metalsmithing and jewelry, said one of Burke’s best characteristics was his ability to motivate students.

“As a professional artist he knows what it takes to create and expects nothing less from his students,” Park said. “He understands that students can provide him with new information. His work ethic is inspirational.”

Burke spends countless hours in the studio and usually doesn’t take his work home, though he enjoys drawing with his son.

“We interact visually on the page with animals, people, etc.,” Burke said. “It’s a communication that’s visual and very accessible for both of us.”

Jordan Briceland, Wichita senior, is majoring in sculpture. He said Burke’s teachings had proven beneficial to him and fellow students.

“He strives to create a good atmosphere for his students by establishing a one-on-one line of communication with them,” Briceland said. “He wants to see his students succeed in their art, and Matt provides the creative know-how to support them along the way.”

Burke said getting students to produce their highest-quality work often meant delving deep into the student’s psyche.

“The goal of the artist is to get into the dark and unknown places in one’s mind, or in a story that you’re interested in,” Burke said. “And get in and find out what that crucial thing is that makes it tick. What’s that unknown? Uncover that unknown, and then can you bring form to that unknown?”

“That may in the end, be ugly and not be what people want to see,” Burke said. “You may offend, but those things are part of this process.”

In January Burke will have an art show at the Lawrence Arts Center. Later next year he’ll have another show at the Hayden Art Center in Lincoln, Neb.

During class, Burke often speaks about the difficulties that aspiring artists face after graduation. His continued presence in the art scene throughout the country inspires students to follow their artistic interests.

— Edited by Jeff Briscoe