Reimagining the American Crow
In the creative mind of Ralph Steadman, the corvid channels independence.
Published September - October 2015
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Following the English artist Ralph Steadman鈥檚 artistic process requires some creative leaps. To capture the American Crow, 鈥淚 took the brush, dipped it in the ink, and wiped it on a piece of paper,鈥 recalled Steadman, 79, who鈥檚 well known for his work with the gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. 鈥淭hat accidental flow upwards suggested an arm to me.鈥 From there his mind jumped to . . . the Constitution. It鈥檚 a baffling bit of free association with a result that somehow makes perfect sense: the pushy assertiveness of the crow, spelled out in a declaration of selfhood.
This isn鈥檛 Steadman鈥檚 first bird鈥攈e鈥檚 done hundreds of them. In 2012 he published Extinct Boids, a compendium of species that are no more, and his new follow-up, Nextinction, deals with birds that are endangered (both books are collaborations with filmmaker Ceri Levy). To depict a bird, Steadman said, try to get the essence of the subject, and remember, 鈥渁 mistake is an opportunity to do something else.鈥 And that鈥檚 how you get an arm on a crow. 鈥淚 hope it鈥檚 not being rude to the memory of 糖心logo,鈥 he added, fretfully. Steadman may be one of the godfathers of gonzo, but he鈥檚 still English.
See samples from Steadman's upcoming book Nextinction .
