Episode Details

Visual artist and author Linnea Ryshke joins the podcast for a conversation about her recent book, Kindling, a collection of poems and mixed media artwork inspired by the artist’s difficult, but instructive, experience working as a laborer at an organic meat farm.

During the conversation, Linnea outlines what she initially hoped to gain by working there and describes her day-to-day life on the “farm,” including the difficult, and disagreeable, roles she was asked to take on. The artist also shares why the term “activist art” doesn’t describe her creative work most accurately, the role her art serves in the context of animal protection, and the ethics behind creating images of animals. 

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Jasmin’s interview with Linnea Ryshke.*

Linnea Ryshke creates paintings, drawings, artist books, installations, and poetry that seek to restore the value of nonhuman animals as kindred beings worthy of our adoration, respect, and empathy. She received her B.F.A. in Painting from Pratt Institute and M.F.A. in Visual Art from Washington University in St. Louis. Her work has been exhibited nationally, and she released her first book, Kindling, with Lantern Publishing and Media in the fall of 2021.  She is currently based in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I feel so much sensitivity toward the animals that I’m representing that I want to be considerate in the process of doing so.” – Linnea Ryshke

Highlights for Episode 651: 

• The psychological tension between empathy and apathy and care and harm in Linnea’s poems
• Some of the poems from Kindling, read by Linnea
• The difficulty of looking after your mental health when faced with the reality of how animals are routinely treated in our society
• Linnea’s feelings on the role of art and art-making in animal advocacy
• The importance of  holding grief and discomfort in artwork
• Linnea’s relationship with her audience and how she hopes to impact her vegan and non-vegan audiences
• Why so many people disregard their inner core of compassion in how they treat other creatures
• Linnea notes that her art involves an act of ritual, and expands on what that means for her, the animals, and the audience  

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