How Does It Feel

I’ve been enjoying this heavyweight hardcover out from Rizzoli recently. Rolling Stone: The Illustrated Portraits draws on more than 50 years of music journalism at Rolling Stone, to present over 200 excellent illustrations, executed by an all-star line-up of contributing artists, including the likes of Milton Glaser, Ralph Steadman, Christoph Neimann, and Mark Ryden. The subject matter, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, skews heavily in the direction of music and musicians, including the likes of Outkast, Neil Young, Little Richard, Biggie, and a whole lot of Bob Dylan to boot. Beyond that, it also includes portraits of sports legends including Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan, literary superstar Hunter S. Thompson, environmental activist Greta Thurnberg, and several former presidents, including my favorite one and my least favorite one. While several of the subjects are featured repeatedly, there are also some contributing illustrators whose work appears across more than a few spreads here, and whose wider portfolio garners a closer look: Ralph Steadman, Anita Kunz, Jody Hewgill, Victor Juhasz, Christopher Buzelli, and Rory Kurtz. They say a rolling stone gathers no moss, but Rolling Stone has definitely gathered some truly great artwork over the years. How does it feel? Like a complete unknown.