May 8, 2009
Jeff McNutt's black-and-gold past has had a rebirth.
A one-time "Herky" mascot and a former University of Iowa art student, McNutt has returned to his roots. A bio-tech salesman by day, McNutt retreats to his Iowa City art studio and often paints the night away.
In a second-floor loft of an old mechanics' warehouse, McNutt has been exploring a unique art form he calls "Hawkeye expressionism." His paintings mainly feature Herky renderings, and he recently completed a large Nile Kinnick masterpiece.
What makes the work unique is that it includes pieces of the old Kinnick Stadium press box, which was demolished in 2005. For example, some paintings include dust from old Kinnick bricks and others are framed with old bench seating wood, including a seat number.
McNutt will donate the Kinnick piece to a favorite charity of former Iowa football and current San Diego Charger kicker Nate Kaeding. The charity is the Russell and Ann Gerdin Hope Lodge, which supports cancer victims.
"It just feels right," McNutt said of donating the painting he has been working on for the past five years.
The Kinnick piece will be on display at M.C. Ginsberg, 110 E. Washington St., for the next month before it is raffled off in a silent auction June 11 at Brown Deer Golf Course.
McNutt also is donating proceeds from a painting of former Iowa football coach Hayden Fry to the Hope Lodge. The painting, when finished, will be on display at M.C. Ginsberg's as well and at Fry Fest on Sept. 4.
McNutt has sold many pieces, mainly Herkys, over the past few years. M.C. Ginsberg hosts an art show each year with a collection of McNutt's work for sale.
Owner Mark Ginsberg said some might expect higher brow art in his jewelry store, but people take to McNutt's work and it sells. M.C. Ginsberg's has "exclusive representation" of McNutt's work.
"Desire defies reason. I don't know why people are attracted by certain things, but I respect the fact that they are," Ginsberg said. "The passion and love that goes into the work is enough for me (to show his work."
OUT OF THE KINNICK PRESS BOX RUBBLE COMES GREAT ART
Artist Donating Masterpiece by Brian Morelli • Iowa City Press-Citizen
McNutt's art form took off several years ago.
McNutt, who lives in Iowa City with his wife, Beth, and his sons, Carter and Sawyer, approached the UI athletic department about retrieving scraps from the old Kinnick Stadium press box. About a dozen calls later, McNutt found a contractor willing to part with various remnants including bricks, long planks from stadium benches, metal scrap, press photographer booth signs and bathroom sinks.
His studio is full of the artifacts. Paints are scattered on a shelf spanning the length of the long, narrow room, while the opposite wall serves as a mount for several canvases.
Some day, he said he will find uses for all of it.
About five years ago, McNutt began working on a 5-foot by 3-foot canvas, brushing a nondescript background border. He began to see in the center the profile of Nile Kinnick, who he'd been researching at the time.
McNutt said he was trying to come up with something worthy of such a large canvas and he found it in Kinnick. McNutt painted a large portrait of the Hawkeye legend in the center and surrounded it with details, such as arches from Kinnick Stadium, stars symbolizing his military career and an action football shot.
"I started painting and it just came out as Nile," he said.