Reimagining the American Crow
In the creative mind of Ralph Steadman, the corvid channels independence.
Following the English artist Ralph Steadmans artistic process requires some creative leaps. To capture the American Crow, I took the brush, dipped it in the ink, and wiped it on a piece of paper, recalled Steadman, 79, whos well known for his work with the gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. That accidental flow upwards suggested an arm to me. From there his mind jumped to . . . the Constitution. Its 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 isnt Steadmans first birdhes 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, a mistake is an opportunity to do something else. And thats how you get an arm on a crow. I hope its not being rude to the memory of 勛圖窪蹋, he added, fretfully. Steadman may be one of the godfathers of gonzo, but hes still English.
See samples from Steadman's upcoming book Nextinction .