Into the Ether by Ralph Steadman

Although dated 2000, this piece actually dates back to 1981 and for some reason, in 2000, Ralph added more colour to the original drawing. It can be seen in its original form in the illustrated anthology Scar Strangled Banger (Salem House Publishers,1988).
Steadman has this to say about sport in America:
American sport is an outward expression of the countrys life-blood, the bursting of a dam, the outpourings of a reservoir of, as yet, untapped energy. The driving force lies deep in the American Psyche. Americans live with the certain knowledge that the real source of their greatness has not been released. The intensity of their worship drives the gods in the area beyond mortal goals and beyond normal brute force, so much so that these gods are encased in armour to ward off evil spirits and the unthinkable possibility that they may be injured, albeit by another god from another place.

Ink and acrylic paint on paper, 1981 

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