By Michael Radoslav

Nathaniel Moore has collected works of art, including this sketch, to commemorate the late "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Courtesy Roberto Alicea.

Nathaniel G. Moore vividly remembers attending a “Macho Man” Randy Savage wrestling match 20 years ago with his father. Following the death of Savage earlier this year, Moore decided to honour the man he calls an “aging hero” that always seemed to be there by his side while he grew up.

When Savage passed away in May, Moore said he received numerous emails from friends who always associated him with the Macho Man. “They asked ‘What are you going to do?’ so I said ‘Well, I guess I’m doing an art show.’”

The wrestling icon will be immortalized this November at the White House Studio Project in Kensington Market (277½ Augusta Ave.).

A local author and Gleaner contributor, Moore formed connections with members of the professional wrestling community, recently helping Bret “the Hitman” Hart’s ex-wife Julie Hart complete her book. Writing a novel loosely based around Savage and wrestling himself, Moore put an ad on Craigslist for artistic interpretations of the Macho Man for his book.

“Over the last couple years I’ve been collecting drawings of Savage for what I perceive to be the inside covers, just repeated black and white images.”

He received submissions from a wide array of skill levels, ranging from “people who like to sketch” to “professional artists.”

“What I noticed was when I started putting the idea of pictures together, it was like I was creating my own Google image search,” he said. “And that’s kind of what this show is, me pointing an artist in the direction of a subject.”

Members of the White House Studio vote on potential exhibits and Moore’s received a unanimous yea vote, said Vanessa Rieger, an executive administrator at the studio.

“We’re all very excited about it,” she said, “especially since Nathaniel came with artists secured and also had an open call for more people to contribute.”

White House is a not-for-profit, artist-run studio that receives no grants or funding. The studio makes money by renting out their space to artists, holding events, and selling art. News of the Savage show spread quickly online, Reiger said, and exploded after Terry “Hulk” Hogan retweeted one of Moore’s messages promoting the event.

“It’s really cool that it’s generating this kind of interest,” she said, “because it is publicity and because we are honouring [Savage].”

Courtesy Ryan McClure.

Authors Greg Oliver and Michael Holmes, who have both written books based around professional wrestling, will perform readings at the event.  A comedy troupe created a song and a local video game retailer will display old wrestling video games that include the Macho Man. Music and food will also be provided.

“I wanted a fun show, but I wanted the art to be good, and I also wanted to sort of challenge people’s interpretation of what I’ve been doing so far with Savage and the book,” Moore said.

Sherwin Tijia, a professional artist from Montreal with a piece in the show, said he enjoys exhibits that are atypical. “Most art shows are pretty specific and include pretty pictures for rich people because those are the people who can afford it,” he said.

Floating in the same literary circles as Moore for years, Tijia is happy to be involved with such a unique event. “An artistic wake for a fictional person is very bizarre,” he said.

Having received such great interest online, Moore said he may take the show on tour but ultimately he would like to send photos or videos to Savage’s brother, another wrestler himself, “Leaping” Lanny Poffo.

There have been two tribute wrestling shows to Savage over the past couple months and Moore said “they’ve both been terrible” for different reasons. He hopes this serves as a fitting tribute to the Macho Man. “The fact that people stopped and made the art is a tribute to him, and his memory,” he said.

The Savage Art Show runs from Nov. 12 to 15, coinciding with Savage’s 59th birthday. For info about the White House Studio, www.theotherwhitehouse.ca.