For the second interview in our fan artist series, cruiserweight aficionado and all around awesome gal Justine Colla (who you may perhaps know on Twitter as @pastasauca) answers our questions about art and wrestling, and talks about some of her favorite pieces. This series will read best, I think, if you’re admiring the dramatic contrast of aesthetics and approaches from one artist to the next, so be sure, also, to check out our first interview with Punkrockbigmouth and check back for more interviews in the future!
Spectacle of Excess: Why is wrestling art? And why does it make such a good subject for art?
Justine Colla: Everything is art, in a way. Art is something that makes you react, or feel, or think. It’s one of the most intangible concepts that exists and it does a disservice to try and define it too severely. Art can be meaningful, or for no reason whatsoever–that’s the beauty of it.
About Neville, King of the Cruiserweights: “Neville has always been my most favourite wrestler to draw. His face is all sharp lines but his body is curvy, and it makes for a really interesting visual contrast. Since I got into wrestling in 2015, I’ve drawn him well over 500 times (if we’re counting every little sketch). I had been wanting to paint a “king’s portrait” for the longest time, to celebrate his amazing Championship run in 2017, but I started painting after painting and they either didn’t feel right or I wasn’t happy with them. Neville’s a very personal subject to me, he’s someone whose presence in wrestling has kept me motivated and pushing forward when times in my life have been tough. So, when I have a specific concept for him, and I’m not able to produce it as well as I want to, it’s frustrating.
SofX: Is there a difference between fan art and “real” art?
JC: Of course not! Fan art is an inspired creation of an original art or subject. It’s still “real” art. I will not stand for any who says otherwise. There’s even fan art of fan art (that’s when things start to get real meta). There’s too much of a centralist culture of people who think that putting an exorbitant amount of passion into something makes you intellectually compromised. That’s why we have Facebook groups and online forums of literal communities who complain about the surface-level of wrestling but are fast to pick apart anyone who spends time and energy creating fan art or fan fiction. Why are fan artists so frowned upon in the “mainstream” level of fandoms? Sometimes even by the subjects themselves! I try my best to challenge that perception wherever I can.
About Dark Cloud, Bright Lights: “At the end of November 2017, Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander had a very engaging clash, leading up to a fatal-4 way for a spot in a contendership match for the Cruiserweight Championship. It was all I could think about at the time, I was so invested in this storyline. Ali does a fantastic job of making every match he has feel like a big deal, like his entire existence depends on this one victory. Before the Cruiserweight Classic, I had no idea who he was, and a short year later he was one of my all time favourites. He has that kind of affect on people. I feel his passion through his work, and I’m able to channel that into my own artwork. Ali often posts my art with a written story element that represents where he’s currently at on his journey. I almost feel like it’s become this surreal, unspoken artistic understanding between us. I have so much respect for him as a performer and as a person.
SofX: Who are your favorite artists in general? What artistic periods or movements resonate most with you?
JC: I’ve always been enamoured with Renaissance period art. The composition, the lines and the drama–it’s so encapsulating to me. I’m an especially big fan of Michelangelo and Caravaggio. However, my favourite artist of all time is John Singer Sargent. There’s rarely a lot of movement in his portraits but the subjects all tell a story with their eyes and body language. I would never claim to ever be on their level, I’m a hobbyist artist at best, but I try as much as I can to capture that same essence in my own work.
SofX: What do you think about the idea that wrestling is a “spectacle of excess”?
JC: Humans are super bizarre creatures! We crave entertainment and have the uncanny ability to disconnect our minds from our realities to suspend disbelief. It’s a fundamental learning mechanism and is what makes us so intelligent as a species. Shakespeare and the Olympics are some of the purest forms of an excessive spectacle- for a few hours you’re able to put yourself in the mind of a performer or athlete; you feel their pain, their success, their heart. If wrestling is Shakespeare meets the Olympics (and it totally is), then it is an unequivocal fact that it is a spectacle of excess!
About 飯伏幸太: “This one was very much a happy accident. While I was researching lighting for portraits, I found one where light was cast unevenly across the face. It reminded me of when you’re standing under a tree in broad daylight. I had just watched Wrestle Kingdom 9 for the first time and fell in love with Kota Ibushi all over again (the first time I saw him was during the Cruiserweight Classic, and random gifs of him shooting fireworks on himself before that). I wanted to try my hand at drawing him. Ibushi has one of the most handsome people I’ve ever seen, and not just in wrestling. His face extremely striking and he carries this calm, royal air about him. It’s extremely crucial to get the detail his features accurate to achieve his likeness.
SofX: You know it’s fake, right? 😉
JC: So is Game of Thrones, and y’all still bawled your eyes out after the Red Wedding episode. How can anything that makes us react and feel with such vivid emotion be “fake”?
Follow Justine on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t miss her shop, where there is Crossfit Jesus art for sale! (You’re welcome.)
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