Jim Nutt at the MCA
America. Often scatological and sexual, Nutt’s paintings and drawings are noted for the excellence of his rendering skills. In addition to his historical prominence, I wondered how much the work would have changed over the years.
Nutt seems to use the female form as a blank canvas. Earlier works, included in this
show, often have a large female figure that displays smaller, seemingly random images floating
in a flat 2-dimensional, tattoo like pattern, all over the torso and extremities. Sometimes these
images are recognizable, sexual or dismembered human forms; at other times they are
unrecognizable. Often a male voyeur is included somewhere in the image. Nutt’s themes seem
to focus on pain and frustration and the desire men feel towards women He also seems to
use images that shock and repulse, and perhaps titillate the viewer all in the same work. His
images are as far from conventional art as you can get, and certainly this is part of his intention.
However his latest works, all portraits of women, have become much more sedate and
restrained than his work in the 60’s and 70’s. canvas. What I gather from this are several
things. Nutt is obsessed with patterning, ( He, as well as the other members of these painters
groups, were taught at the Art Institute by Roy Yoshida, who, a generation older than them, was
known for his obsession with patterning, combinations of small, busy, 2-dimensional images, and
monochromatic fetishistic imagery. He influenced all of them, as this fascination with pattern and
fetish art is evident in almost all of the Imagists). In Nutt’s later works, this fascination with
pattern becomes more schematized, almost architectural, in its geometric repetition. The colors
too become more sedate. Now rather than the pop, bright colors one sees in comic books, the
colors are now more like a mature designers palette. Browns and golds, cool blues and
greys, muted grey violet and golden tans have replaced the bright pop colors. These are
pleasing colors, restrained and mature. The portraits of the women are smaller as opposed to
the large pinball machine like presence they used to display. The portraits actually make me
think, for some reason, of some of Picasso’s portraits of Dora Maar. They all have this strong
frontal presence with heavily textured, fractured surrealist faces. Picasso’s portraits of Dora
Maar are known to be evidence of his tortured, painful relationship to his mistress Dora Maar.
I wonder if Nutt who has used Picasso’s Monster Surrealist style, has looked to him again for
artistic empathy or dialogue. It is not unusual, for an artist to be heavily influenced, by an artist
of an earlier historical period, for whom they have a great respect and fascination.
Nutt’s later works, of this past decade, are no longer shock or repulse; except perhaps for the bleary, distorted, bruised noses on the women that Nutt fixes his patterning upon. The work of this past decade seems more serious, even sober, compared to the work of the 60’s and 70’s.
In this age of abstraction in painting, finding painters who rely on imagery is somewhat
unusual. Is Nutt’s theme, over all the decades, about the duality of desire and repulsion for women and sexuality? Is Nutt speaking, in his paintings, to the same conflict Picasso feels towards his women? The eternal struggle of consuming desire; fascination and repulsion; and of men versus women? One can only surmise.
Russell, John. New York Times. January 31, 1982.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/31/arts/gallery-view-the-hairy-who-and-other-messages-from-chicago.html
Recently I decided to go to the MCA and spend time going through the retrospective of Jim Nutt’s work. Nutt, a world famous Chicago painter, and a respected teacher at SAIC, was also a founding member of the 1960’s Chicago Art group, the “Hairy Who”. This group also included the artists, Gladys Nillson (Nutt’s wife), H.C. Westermann, Karl Wirsum, Suellen Rocca and James Falconer. Later on Nutt was grouped with the Chicago Imagists, which also included Ed Paschke and Roger Brown (Russell, NYTimes).
Nutt’s idiosyncratic style combines Monster Surrealism, (invented by Picasso in the
1930’s, the style seen in Guernica), street graffitti, and comic book art of 20th Century urbanAmerica. Often scatological and sexual, Nutt’s paintings and drawings are noted for the excellence of his rendering skills. In addition to his historical prominence, I wondered how much the work would have changed over the years.
Nutt seems to use the female form as a blank canvas. Earlier works, included in this
show, often have a large female figure that displays smaller, seemingly random images floating
in a flat 2-dimensional, tattoo like pattern, all over the torso and extremities. Sometimes these
images are recognizable, sexual or dismembered human forms; at other times they are
unrecognizable. Often a male voyeur is included somewhere in the image. Nutt’s themes seem
to focus on pain and frustration and the desire men feel towards women He also seems to
use images that shock and repulse, and perhaps titillate the viewer all in the same work. His
images are as far from conventional art as you can get, and certainly this is part of his intention.
However his latest works, all portraits of women, have become much more sedate and
restrained than his work in the 60’s and 70’s. canvas. What I gather from this are several
things. Nutt is obsessed with patterning, ( He, as well as the other members of these painters
groups, were taught at the Art Institute by Roy Yoshida, who, a generation older than them, was
known for his obsession with patterning, combinations of small, busy, 2-dimensional images, and
monochromatic fetishistic imagery. He influenced all of them, as this fascination with pattern and
fetish art is evident in almost all of the Imagists). In Nutt’s later works, this fascination with
pattern becomes more schematized, almost architectural, in its geometric repetition. The colors
too become more sedate. Now rather than the pop, bright colors one sees in comic books, the
colors are now more like a mature designers palette. Browns and golds, cool blues and
greys, muted grey violet and golden tans have replaced the bright pop colors. These are
pleasing colors, restrained and mature. The portraits of the women are smaller as opposed to
the large pinball machine like presence they used to display. The portraits actually make me
think, for some reason, of some of Picasso’s portraits of Dora Maar. They all have this strong
frontal presence with heavily textured, fractured surrealist faces. Picasso’s portraits of Dora
Maar are known to be evidence of his tortured, painful relationship to his mistress Dora Maar.
I wonder if Nutt who has used Picasso’s Monster Surrealist style, has looked to him again for
artistic empathy or dialogue. It is not unusual, for an artist to be heavily influenced, by an artist
of an earlier historical period, for whom they have a great respect and fascination.
Nutt’s later works, of this past decade, are no longer shock or repulse; except perhaps for the bleary, distorted, bruised noses on the women that Nutt fixes his patterning upon. The work of this past decade seems more serious, even sober, compared to the work of the 60’s and 70’s.
In this age of abstraction in painting, finding painters who rely on imagery is somewhat
unusual. Is Nutt’s theme, over all the decades, about the duality of desire and repulsion for women and sexuality? Is Nutt speaking, in his paintings, to the same conflict Picasso feels towards his women? The eternal struggle of consuming desire; fascination and repulsion; and of men versus women? One can only surmise.
Works Cited Rodgers
Russell, John. New York Times. January 31, 1982.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/31/arts/gallery-view-the-hairy-who-and-other-messages-from-chicago.html
