It’s hard to decide whether to cringe or laugh when looking at Jim Nutt’s Plexiglas paintings. To be fair, not all of his works on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art are done on Plexiglas with bright colors, yet they all have the same in-your-face, vulgar look. And depending on your personality and current mood, they may cause you to either cringe in disgust or laugh out loud. The exhibit is presently held at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and is titled “Jim Nutt: Coming into Character.” It is supposed to be a collection of his works through the years, but the vast majority of the exhibit focuses only on the artwork completed in the later part of his career.

This means almost all of the works on display are paintings on Plexiglas or graphite drawings of the distorted portraits of women. His seeming obsession is intriguing because no one quite knows what (or who) inspired these countless strange works of art.

It’s easier to trace the origins of his style, which is similar to that of Pop Art. Jim Nutt emerged on the art scene in the 1960’s. His use of bright colors and warped imagery are reminiscent of the era known for psychedelic trips. The inspiration of his style comes from the pop culture of the time, including comic books and pinball machine art. As contorted as his famous countenances are, it is clear that Nutt carefully studied the elements of line and color to make each painting a true contemporary work of art.

Before his preoccupation with contorted faces, Jim Nutt was part of a group of artists in Chicago called the Hairy Who. At that time, it was common for new artists to exhibit their work together to make a name for themselves. The Hairy Who was comprised of six young artists who had recently graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Their art was often sexual, loud and, perhaps, obnoxious. This kind of art, however, was part of the shift to modern, abstract art that is still created today. The tone is both humorous and twisted, a characteristic that remains in Jim Nutt’s artwork today.

After three exhibitions in the Hyde Park Art Center in ’67, ’68 and ’69, Nutt pursued his solo career. By then he and his Hairy Who cohorts had begun to establish themselves as artists. In addition to painting and drawing, Nutt took various teaching positions at universities (including the SAIC) and married Gladys Nilsson, a member of the Hairy Who group.

Nutt began painting and drawing portraits of women in the 1980s. While none look exactly the same, all of the women have disfigured noses and mismatching eyes in addition to other disfigurations unique to each work. Some are painted on Plexiglas with bright and neon colors, while the graphite on white paper portraits hang in stark contrast. With the exception of just a few sizable paintings, all are portrait size. Jim Nutt does not need to use size to catch anyone’s attention. The big noses and crazed looks already do that.

The Jim Nutt exhibition is nothing you wouldn’t expect to see at the Contemporary Museum of Art. His work pushed boundaries and fascinates viewers even today. It may be vulgar, but it seems that his intention was to shock his audience and vulgarity was an excellent way to do that. Art is meant to be unique and memorable, and Jim Nutt’s images will not likely be forgotten any time soon.

Any Chicagoan can appreciate Nutt’s artwork simply because his talent was honed in the Windy City, yet it seems that some generations have a greater appreciation than others. Perhaps because Nutt’s artwork emanates brightness, youth and vigor, the younger generations seem to identify with it more than their parents’ generation.

On a weekday afternoon, I saw two young men smiling and curiously pointing at something in a colorful painting. I also saw two middle-aged women distractedly looking at the tamer pieces while carrying on a conversation. Perhaps best capturing the audience’s reaction toward the exhibit was a little girl and her father. The girl gazed at one of the larger Plexiglas paintings and danced without shame, while her father skeptically scrutinized the strange distortions. I’m sure that’s exactly the kind of response Jim Nutt would be looking for.

The exhibit will remain in the Museum of Contemporary Art until May 29. Don’t have the money? Tuesdays are free days at the MCA.