I'm All A TWit

This meticulously conceived and executed object is one of at least three that Nutt made using this format. The other two are also in museum collections: "Flop! (1969-70) is in the Roger Brown Study Collection, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and "Summer Salt" (1970) is in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Each was owned by one of Nutt's close friends and admirers. "I'm All A TWit" consists of a clear vinyl window shade that Nutt painted using a reverse technique in order to retain a smooth, shiny undisturbed surface. The shade can be retracted like a common household cover, revealing another painting on wood. Nutt also painted the reverse of the backing board, making every part of the object a part of the total composition. The window shade's subject matter includes several painted reproductions and variants on clippings from comic strips, advertisements, and Nutt's own motifs. A woman, whose hands end in axes, has just sliced through a phallic eel-like creature who responds by exclaiming "more." Juxtaposed against this central scene are images that suggest sexual violence or lovemaking. Nutt's consummately rendered paintings of the 1960s and 1970s often confront such transgressive subject matter through a combination of humor and disgust.