Meet the Vanity Fair Caricature Artist Whose Past Subjects Include Diana Ross, Dolly Parton, Jackie O... And Me 🎨
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That said... today’s story... which is one that came to me from a friend.
“I want to connect you to Robert Risko,” he said. “He drew you!”
Truth be told, I had heard of Robert Risko, but I suppose it never occurred to me that he was the artist featured on the back page of Vanity Fair.
You know, the famed Proust Questionnaire?
The celebrity caricature that accompanies the questionnaire is the work of Risko... and has been for the past 30 years.
After 40 years total at the magazine, Risko is hanging up his editorial hat. At least at Vanity Fair.
So, I thought what better time to celebrate the life and work of this incredible artist.
ANDY WARHOL “CHANGED MY LIFE”
ALINA CHO: I was really interested to read that very early on in your career, you had an incredible mentor, Andy Warhol.
ROBERT RISKO: Yes, that's true.
ALINA CHO: How did you meet Andy?
ROBERT RISKO: When I moved to New York, I was 19 [or 20] years old. Andy was always a mentor because I was from the Pittsburgh area [like he was], and we used to get Life Magazine all the time, and there were always paintings of Marilyn Monroe and I thought, “He's speaking my language.”
ALINA CHO: Right.
ROBERT RISKO: He paved a path for a Pittsburgh boy to become the center of ultra-cool in New York.
ALINA CHO: Do you think he saw a little of himself in you?
ROBERT RISKO: I think he did.
ALINA CHO: But how did you meet?
ROBERT RISKO: One hot Sunday afternoon, everyone left for the summer, and my brother and I were in town, and we said, "Let's go out to Fire Island Pines, let's do a day trip out there." We were poor, we couldn't afford to have a share house. So, we took the train, we took the ferry, and we were out there all day. There was a little sign and it said, "Andy Warhol will be here today with Halston signing copies of Interview Magazine."
ALINA CHO: Oh my God.
ROBERT RISKO: "Line up and buy your copy." And I was like, you know what? I had lived in New York for two years and I said, "Everyone says they see him everywhere; I have never seen him, I am going to see him." And before this, I had been to Interview Magazine twice to present my portfolio and was rejected both times at the door.
ALINA CHO: So, you thought, "I'm going to go straight to the source”?
ROBERT RISKO: Yeah, yeah. I basically said, "I know he'll like my work if he sees it." I had made a business card for myself with a little drawing of Diana Ross on it. So, [when I got to the front of the line with my copy of Interview Magazine], he said, "Who should I make this out to?” And I said, "Robert Risko, R-I-S-K-O. Maybe you've seen my work."
ALINA CHO: Wow.
ROBERT RISKO: And I pulled out my business card and I put it right under his eyes. I said, "Do you know who this is?" And he looked at it and he smiled, and he said, "Oh yeah, that's Diana Ross. Looks exactly like her."
I said, "Well Andy, I'd really love to work for your magazine." [He said], "Oh, definitely, definitely.”
ALINA CHO: Incredible.
ROBERT RISKO: I was waiting for that moment, and that moment changed my life.
HIS SIGNATURE STYLE
ALINA CHO: What I think is so unbelievable about your portraits is, even though they are caricatures, they're so instantly recognizable.
How did you develop your style?
ROBERT RISKO: Well, when you talk about instant recognizability, that is an aspect.
ALINA CHO: It's one of your trademarks.
ROBERT RISKO: So, in drawing as an illustrator, I'm a minimalist. And I think that there is an essence to everybody, like you look at a childhood picture of somebody and you say, "Oh my God, they still look the same."
What is that? What is that thing, that no matter how old you get, there’s something eternal in each person and unique, like a snowflake.
ALINA CHO: With me, I think you got my hair.
ROBERT RISKO: Well, that's probably true. Maybe your body language, too.
ALINA CHO: Oh my gosh, that's so crazy. I didn't even think about that, but you're right.
ROBERT RISKO: And the thing is, I want it to read like a scanner reads a barcode, so that when it whizzes past your eyes, you [know immediately who it is]. Andy Warhol used to say that you recognize people by their hair and the way they walk.
ALINA CHO: Fascinating. You never forgot that.
ROBERT RISKO: No, I never forgot it.
REFLECTING ON 40 YEARS AT VANITY FAIR
ALINA CHO: How long have you had the back page, the Proust Questionnaire, at Vanity Fair?
ROBERT RISKO: I've had that back page since 1993.
ALINA CHO: So, you were at Vanity Fair for roughly 40 years in total, and for the better part of 30 years, you had the back page?
ROBERT RISKO: For the better part of 30 years, yes, the Proust questionnaire. But I have done every section of the magazine. I covered OJ Simpson's trial with Dominick Dunne. Everything Dominick Dunne did, I always illustrated his articles. When Tina Brown came over, there was a section in the beginning called Vanities. I did a drawing for the front of that.
ALINA CHO: As you look back on 40 years at Vanity Fair, how are you feeling? What are you taking away from your time there?
ROBERT RISKO: I feel incredibly proud and accomplished. I felt like I was riding a wave, like a golden wave of the golden era of magazines, of print journalism. And I wanted to see how long I could stay on that surfboard. How long can I stay on that wave? And I think 40 years is a pretty long time.