ONE SMALL SEED MAGAZINE Issue #29 Digital 04 THE BEST OF | Page 64
RALPH STEADMAN:
ANOTHER FREAK
IN THE FREAK
KINGDOM
Mickey and Mallory, Bonny and Clyde, Butch and
Sundance... it seems that great murderers hunt in pairs.
And so do Gonzo artists. Ralph Steadman was Hunter S.
Thompson’s illustrator, collaborator and friend. He captures
the essence of Thompson’s words with his iconic cartoons
and paintings, adding a visual counterpoint to the dark and
sardonic music of the duo’s journey.
Steadman’s award-winning work includes political
cartoons, book illustrations and countless examples of his
life-long scribbled homage to whimsy. He failed Art at the
same school that now has a Ralph Steadman Creative
Suite, and unveiled the plaque himself. His life breaks the
rules with the same joyful defiance that his art does. He
explains: ‘Gonzo is the essence of irony. You dare not take
it seriously. You have to laugh.’