Interviewed by Adrian Lilly and Betsy Meacham, Blue Water Communications
Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy discuss the original works of “The Gonzovation Trilogy” on view in the retrospective “Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing”
As one of the most influential illustrators and comic artists of the last six decades, Ralph Steadman is famous for his long collaboration with journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman and Thompson were known for their scathing social and political commentary and secured their place in pop culture history with the June 1970 publication of their first joint effort, “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” in Scanlan’s Monthly. Dubbed “Gonzo” by Boston Globe journalist Bill Cardoso, their form of journalism continues to be prominent in today’s online news sources, editorial pieces, social media, videos, political punditry and podcasts.
Steadman, however, has also long been an advocate for environmental issues. Currently touring the United States, a retrospective of Steadman’s work, “Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing,” features a selection of 149 original artworks and objects. His passion for conservation is illustrated through works that appeared in the books “Extinct Boids” (2012), “Nextinction” (2015) and “Critical Critters” (2017), which focus on endangered animals. These works — created with author, conservationist and filmmaker Ceri Levy — gave birth to the Gonzovation Movement. The three books together have come to be known as “The Gonzovation Trilogy.”
The books also demonstrate Steadman’s mantra, which is always to experiment. He used his environmentally conscious method of dirty water to create drawings for “Critical Critters.”
“I throw dirty water — from the water I wash my brushes in — down onto pure white paper and wait three days, at least, for it to dry,” Steadman explained. “Probably when the drawing or painting is nearing completion, then I do something spontaneous, and I either succeed or it’s buggered! The surprising results and effects encourage me to use my inventive aptitude, and it challenges me to draw something that simply would not be there before. There is nothing more challenging than a white sheet of paper.”
We asked Steadman and Levy to share more on how their Gonzovation partnership began, the evolution of their collaboration and their mutual commitment to environmental advocacy:
We’ve been told that Ceri reached out to Ralph about one piece of art… and then a book happened. Can you tell us that story of how the collaboration between the two of you began?
(Steadman) Ceri sent me an email asking for a drawing of one extinct bird. I was not really sure exactly what it was that he wanted, but I drew one, and then another and another until we had over 100. It was fun — we would speak every evening and we would discuss which bird I would draw the next day. He is very aware of all the species we have lost and might lose, and he became a good friend. He likes making lists of things for me to do — I should have become a vegetarian but I still like a leg of chicken.
(Levy) I was asking my favorite artists to create a work based on an extinct bird. After emailing Ralph, I was told that it might take a while before I got a reply but to never give up hope. Sure enough, after a couple of months I got an email in my inbox. It was from Ralph. “I have no idea what you want from me but it sounds intriguing. We must talk!” And at that moment my phone rang and with no introduction, a voice read me a story for the next twenty minutes. This was Ralph. I laid back on my couch and received my audio therapy from him. Afterwards, we talked. I explained the project and suggested a couple of birds he could look at and pick one to draw from the list I had sent him. This was at 1 p.m. and he was just about to have lunch. At 6 p.m. my inbox pinged — and there were some birds! A Japanese Egret, which doesn’t exist, a Great Auk and a Moa. I was bowled over and said he didn’t need to do three. “But there’s so many on the list! I’ve started now, and I don’t think I can stop!” And he didn’t. We began talking every day at lunchtime and at six — all for no good reason — simply enjoying each other’s company and discovering a path we had found ourselves walking on. We had no idea where it would lead. We laughed and inspired each other to write and draw. Before we knew what had happened, we had enough for a huge exhibit in its own right within the group show. A Steadman monument to all the birds we had lost. We were then approached by publishers Bloomsbury, and we have never looked back.
To discuss so many extinct birds had to be grueling from a research perspective and also from an emotional perspective. How did you navigate that process?
(Levy) Nothing is grueling if you have the right partner. And I do have that in Ralph. It’s a dark subject but extinction has always been dealt with in a heavy-handed way. We have both thought that humor gets a point across better than telling people that we are dreadful as a species. We all know that! Make people laugh and then hit them with the facts and just maybe they become engaged with a terrible issue.
You include both real and imagined extinct birds. How did you come to the decision to include imaginary animals?
(Levy) No decision necessary! It just happened. And to be fair it happened on the first drawing with a Japanese Egret. Once I got my head round the fact that once something is drawn into existence then it exists. So why not? Inspiration comes from everywhere. One day we were talking about a program we had watched the night before, and I said that the problem with it was there was too much needless smut in it. A light switched on in Ralph’s head and he said, “The Needless Smut needs to exist!” And by six o’clock it did. And what a character it has become. Even becoming the mayor of Toadstool Island where we have housed all the creatures.
Was it always envisioned as a trilogy?
(Steadman) No, because it started with the request for just one drawing. I did not know him from Adam. He’s Welsh, though, and I took that as a very good sign, so maybe I didn’t know him from Dafydd!
How do you think the art in “The Gonzovation Trilogy” helps to raise awareness about the plight of animals?
(Steadman) It’s about engaging people with humor. We tried to make people laugh rather than going in with the serious, heavy stuff. We invented the funniest joke ever during one of our evening Skypes. It was so funny we were laughing and laughing. I said to Ceri “Write it down! Write it down!” He is a great documenter. He went to write it down but couldn’t remember how it began. Then I realized that I couldn’t remember it either. Then we asked Ceri’s wife, Jacqui —- she had been listening and laughing along, and SHE could not remember — and that’s how we lost the funniest joke ever! If anyone finds it, please return it.
What is your favorite work in “The Gonzovation Trilogy” and why?
(Levy) Probably the Needless Smut, as it opened up our relationship into a world where we could let loose with our imaginations. And that has continued to be the truth as we have just finished a screenplay, called “The Gonzovationists,” which we want to make as an animated feature.
Critical Critters expands beyond birds. Why was that decision made?
(Levy) It was just a logical extension. We had been wondering what to do next after birds and we didn’t think that Our Bumper Book of Manhole Covers was going to cut it. So, we chose critters.
How does a respect for animals inform your art?
(Steadman) Respect for all living things is the answer. I cannot stand a bully whether it’s a teacher in school, a politician or someone being cruel to animals. Those are the people I have always gone after — the cruel, the thuggish and the mindless.
What other ways have you tried to raise environmental awareness?
(Steadman) – I have done some work for Greenpeace in the past. But most work, you can tie back to the environment because so many factors affect it across politics, how charitable work is approached, food, fashion — it all relies on the environment or affects the environment.
Anna, my wife, planted a section of garden with just wildflowers for the bees some years ago. Where we live, we are on the edge of a beautiful valley and we have always considered ourselves the last line of defense against developers and the like. Ironically one moved in next door!
What do you think is the most important thing one can do to help the environment?
(Steadman) Maybe in the small ways — just don’t use more than you need. There is a lot of waste and people could just be more mindful of that. It’s difficult to tackle the big things, but everyone can make a difference in a small way, and if everyone did that, the impact could be dramatic.
What was your favorite part of the collaboration?
(Levy) Everything! It is rare for partnerships to last and survive the rigors of creation. But with Ralph there has never been anything other than joy and pleasure in everything we have created. And we haven’t stopped yet. Funnily enough, Gonzovation is about dead and dying wildlife and yet Gonzovation itself continues to thrive, live and evolve to tell stories in mediums other than books. Whether that be clothing, sculpture or even a film. Our collaboration continues to move and grow, and we will continue to support and stick up for the little guys of the world.
“Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing” is currently on view at Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine, through Oct. 11, before opening at the Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, California, in March 2026.