Much like with video games and comic books/graphic novels, the argument as to whether professional wrestling can be classified as art is a popular and divisive one. But in Chikara, one performer wrestles with that debate in their performance, and has managed to make industry-wide pro wrestling history in the process.
Still Life With Apricots & Pears may not lay claim to having the first art-inspired wrestling gimmick. Face-painting has been a popular aesthetic choice by WWE fan-favorites like Sting and Jeff Hardy, while American visual artist and screenwriter Rosalyn Drexler famously performed under the name "Rosa Carlo, The Mexican Spitfire" in the early 1950s.
Similarly, the art world has embraced professional wrestling for years, with artistic depictions of wrestlers dating back as far as Egyptian burial chamber murals and famous works like William Etty's The Wrestlers in 1840. Professional wrestling's influence has since extended further into other art forms, like music, in the form of The Mountain Goat's Beat The Champ wrestling concept album, and television, with the popular Netflix series GLOW.
But Still Life takes this inspiration further than any wrestler has previously, noting inspirations as diverse as Andy Warhol and Nicolas Winding Refn. Still Life's gimmick is that of a living, breathing, human work of art in the ring. They were created by fellow Chikara wrestler BLANK, the tortured artist, and have primarily served as BLANK's muse in storylines in a twisted, subservient relationship between creator and creation.
Chikara goes where few wrestling promotions dare to tread in its eccentric gimmicks, which has allowed it to flourish as one of the most exciting and irreverent independent American wrestling promotions. It was founded by independent wrestling legend Mike Quackenbush in 2002 and has played host to big-name WWE stars like Cesaro, Sami Zayn, and Daniel Bryan. Some of Chikara's most beloved performers have included Los Ice Creams (the dairylicious lucha libre tag-team consisting of El Hijo Del Ice Cream and Ice Cream Junior), the Osirian Portal (Amasis and Ophidian, two ancient Egyptian-themed wrestlers who use a hypnosis-based finishing move) and the Hexapoda overlord Ultramantis Black. Chikara prides itself on inclusive, fun-filled wrestling shows with outlandish characters, and is known for hosting an annual King of Trios tournament for 6-man tag team matches.
Still Life takes their gimmick to similarly great extremes. For starters, they are billed "from the private exhibition of the nouveau aesthetic" in reference to the art nouveau movement at the turn of the 20th century that includes artists such as Klimt, Mucha, Aubrey Beardsley, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Similarly, their signature moves riff off of popular works of art, with their finishing move lovingly titled the Venus de Milo.
Their attire whilst performing in Chikara began as a blank canvas of all white, but has since been adorned with paint after consecutive matches. Their in-ring art, in turn, creates literal works of art on their body, which is in itself an artwork in human form. It's all very artsy, but Still Life backs up their unique character work with animated in-ring mannerisms and impressive athleticism. Still Life's gimmick is so experimental and innovative that they're the kind of wrestler Grant Morrison would conjure up if he ever found himself in the gorilla position of a wrestling promotion.
Still Life's history-making extends beyond their gimmick and into their life behind the curtain. Still Life identifies as non-binary, or genderqueer, meaning they are gender non-conforming and do not identify with either male or female pronouns. The proper way to address Still Life is with they/them pronouns; Still Life and Mike Quackenbush made an educational video explaining this to anyone struggling with the concept via the latter's new YouTube channel "Til We Make It."
Still Life also succeeded in winning Chikara's Young Lions Cup in 2019, a tournament designed in a similar vein to the New Japan Pro Wrestling equivalent. In winning the tournament, Still Life is now recognized as the first professional wrestling champion in history to identify as non-binary. Still Life has noted how inclusive the Chikara locker room has been with regards to their identity, with Chikara living up to its billing as a brand promoting inclusivity and self-expression in its wrestling. It's an important and welcome facet in what has previously been labeled a hyper-masculine industry.
Still Life, and their ongoing success, proves that professional wrestling can reach toward the lofty heights of what we label art, but they've managed so much more than that -- they prove, and rightfully so, that all identities and individuals are welcome in the wrestling world today.