50 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM
WHERE
THE WILD
THINGS
AREN’T
WRITER CERI LEVY AND LEGENDARY
ARTIST RALPH STEADMAN GO GONZO
WITH ANIMALS ON THE BRINK.Thanks to humans, our planet is facing its sixth great extinction. As
their habitats dwindle or are destroyed altogether, many plants and
animals are disappearing. That’s not much fun to think about. So,
with that in mind, writer Ceri Levy sought out legendary illustrator
Ralph Steadman. Among his many accolades, the British artist
co-invented gonzo journalism — where the storyteller becomes
the story — as an illustrator for the various works of lifelong friend
Hunter S. Thompson, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Levy asked Steadman to draw one particular endangered bird
for an art exhibition. He agreed. But Steadman couldn’t stop at
just one; he’s now drawn hundreds of endangered species. The
pair have published three books together, including their latest,
Critical Critters, excerpted here.
Steadman starts the process by spilling dirty ink water on
a page, and then uses a “Ralphschach test” with Levy to see
which endangered species jumps off the page. By blending
hallucinogenic illustrations with often humorous prose, Steadman
and Levy seek to bring levity to an otherwise bleak subject.
ERIC BETZ