HOW TO GO:
What: A memorial tribute to artist Homer Hacker, an exhibit of his work and gathering of friends and family.
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.
Where: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton
Homer Hacker, who died last month at the age of 96, used his time on this earth to inspire and illuminate life for the rest of us through his art and photography.
His friends and family will gather to celebrate Hacker’s life at the Dayton Art Institute on Friday, Jan. 31. We thought we’d celebrate it as well by sharing some of Hacker’s work with our readers.
Hacker worked as both an art director and chief photographer at the Dayton Daily News over a period of 22 years, and then became director of creative services at Top Value Enterprises. Over the years he began painting in watercolors as well and pursued that passion — through his teaching and exhibitions — for more than 40 years.
Hacker was also involved in establishing a number of area arts organizations — co-founding Art Center Dayton in the 1940s, helping to establish Kettering’s Rosewood Gallery in the 1970s, becoming a charter member of the Ohio Watercolor Society in the 1980s. He received the Montgomery County Cultural District’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008; and was honored with the prestigious Elizabeth Callan Medal in 2009 at the American Watercolor Society International Exhibition.
Lifelong connection to the DAI
Homer Hacker’s connection to the Dayton Art Institute began in childhood.
“The Dayton Art Institute was a strong force in the life of the Hacker family for multiple generations,” says DAI director Michael Roediger. “Homer’s father, Owen Hacker, was a well known graphic artist in Dayton and he took classes at The DAI when it was in a mansion on Monument Avenue and St. Clair Street in downtown Dayton. “
Homer, a Roosevelt High school grad, began taking classes at the museum in the seventh grade — about the time the DAI opened in its current location. He studied art with John King, Edward Burroughs and Martha Schauer, then went on to graduate cum laude in journalism, economics and English literature from Ohio University.
In later years, he carried on his family’s tradition by enrolling two of his sons in DAI classes as well.
“The last time I was with my dad at the museum just before the holidays, I told him I still remembers how the studio classrooms smelled of oil paint and turpentine,” says Thom Hacker.
His dad’s response: “Oh yes, wasn’t that a wonderful smell! I just loved that place.”
Roediger says Hacker was very touched when the DAI showed his work in the Cafe in conjunction with the Norman Rockwell exhibit and in cooperation with the Dayton Visual Arts Center. The show was titled “Homer Hacker: A Dayton Storyteller.”
“But the (DAI’s) real impact was in the early years when the faculty there recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue the artist he eventually became,” Roediger says who says he only knew Hacker for a short time, but found him to be humble, kind and immensely talented.
“When ever he came to the museum he arrived with a big smile that commanded the room,” Roediger adds. “Homer will forever hold a special place at The DAI and in my heart.”
Says the museum’s Jane Black who helped curate the last Hacker exhibit: “He was one of the most positive-thinking, community-minded artists in this area.”
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