Pankratiast
McNutt’s first artistic interpretation of his obsession with wrestling began with the creation of a large, narrative panorama, still lives, and portraiture in Pankratiast. Using digital photography and studio lighting, he depicted over eleven wrestlers in a white space. They sat on benches, wrestled on mats, and stood close to one another. Doing so allowed him to create a dreamlike space where wrestlers looked and acted exactly how he desired. The same holds true for his intimate still lives using their wrestling equipment. However, his first artistic attempt to explore wrestling revealed a limited knowledge of the sport. McNutt claims that Pankratiast is flawed in detail. The wrestler’s stances aren’t perfect and the rules are not clearly depicted. But, this series provided a starting point in the trajectory of the work to follow as his knowledge of wrestling and photography grew exponentially.