What does vegan mean for you? For me it means love for life, respect and compassion regardless of whether someone is black or white, feels like a man or woman, or has fur or horns.
And this love does not begin on my plate and does not end there. Not only do I eat plant-based foods, I also don’t wear clothes, bags or shoes made of leather, do not use cosmetics that are made with animal products or have been tested on animals, and I also try to avoid and not support exploitation, cruelty and discrimination in other ways.
If I paint a picture or write a book, then of course I won’t stop being vegan there. My art is a part of me and so it is vegan too.
It starts with the motifs. A nice example is the picture “The Neverending Journey” by Zoé Keleti. It shows her utopia of a lively and colorful city in which all beings are free and happy with each other on their own path of life.
However, it’s not just about the motifs. Another good example is the picture “Love.peace.Unity”, which Zoé and I created together.
The best day is always today. We are all one and the world is ours. We live our dream, are not afraid and make the impossible possible! An angel with a flower crown in front of the rising sun of change as a symbol for overcoming speciesism and for the beginning of a new age. (The original painting is 70 inch to 47 inch, Mix technique on canvas.)
The picture itself is not clearly vegan. But it is still important that we as artists are vegan. Why? It’s about credibility.
How else can I appeal to love when my love to my next ends with my own species? How can I hope for peace if my lifestyle supports exploitation, violence, murder and cruelty? And what unity can I have when I judge the value of life according to the body in which it appears to me?
From credibility we come to the question of the relevance of art. For me it is important that you see their utopia in the work of an artist. Something that inspires me and makes me dream. Art has to add value to my life. But just as minced meat, liver sausage and stolen breast milk don’t enrich my life, a picture by a non-vegan artist almost always gives me a strange feeling. Because just like mine, his art is also a part of him, a look through his eyes, onto his world.
It is also important to me that I support good ideas with my money. A plasticfree-shop around the corner from me has the slogan: “Every receipt is a voting slip.” And vegan doesn’t just stop at the edge of the plate. If I support a non-vegan artist, I am supporting a non-vegan lifestyle. Or in other words. With the money I give the artist, he’ll buy a steak.
But because for me every life counts and I am convinced that each of us makes a difference with our actions – be it through direct action or through what we support – it is important to me that art is vegan. What do you think?
If you would like to see more pictures of Zoé, just have a look:
– exclusive originals
. sustainable fine art prints on bamboo paper
– vegan Postcards
Have a beautiful day,
Joshua Parksteinhoff
