Does This Picture Offend You?

Artist Ryan Desmond of Spokane, Washington is unintentionally stirring up controversy and sparking a debate over what vegans actually find offense.

Desmond earned the opportunity to place some of his work in a Downtown restaurant called Soulful Soups and Spirits as part of citywide art walk. The works he chose to display were some detailed and realistic paintings of meat products on vibrant colorful backgrounds. Stunning displays of artistry and talent, the paintings were quickly taken down by the restaurant owners. Their excuse: the paintings may offend vegans and vegetarians.

Are vegans and vegetarians really offended by paintings of meat? Are we all sensitive and fragile beings who could not bear to even see an artist’s representation of a dead animal part?

It feels to me that the pictures would do more to turn omnivorous customers off of eating meat than upset vegans. In fact, the artist himself told the local paper in Spokane that working on the project “kinda put me off meat, to be honest.” His portraits of meat are so grotesque, how could it NOT turn you off?

I think, Soulful Soups isn’t giving us the real reason why they took down the art. They’d rather blame the sensitivities of vegans and vegetarians because they don’t want to admit their decision was made to protect sensitive meat-eaters.

They should put Desmond’s art back up.  It got people talking and started a healthy discussion which by definition makes it good art.