'White Wall: Your work juxtaposes sweet, fairy tale-like figures with disturbing images of things like meat grinders. What are you hoping to get at with that juxtaposition?Mark Ryden: It is interesting how many people find images of meat so very disturbing yet they don't find it disturbing when they chow down a burger from McDonalds. In our culture there seems to be a complete disconnect between meat as food and the body of the animal that the meat comes from. I suppose it is this contradiction that brings me to repeatedly return to meat in my art. The oblivious consumption of meat without thought of the living, breathing creature it comes from is perplexing. It surprises many people to learn that I am actually not a vegetarian, I do eat meat. I myself don't think it is morally wrong to eat meat. What I do personally is to try to remain aware of what I am eating and where it came from. ...' [White Wall Magazine. 04.29.2010] Mark Ryden will be doing a book-signing at SFMOMA next week on 08.12.2010.
Related: Another non-vegetarian, Jonathan Horowitz's Go Vegan show at Gavin Brown.
