It is a wonderful thing when a university has the chance to display great work by great people. It’s even better when the creator is one of its own.
The Ohio State Faculty Club will be exhibiting the renowned artwork of one of its finest, Sidney Chafetz, through the end of June. Chafetz, 81, is a widely known printmaker, artist and educator and is sharing his work in an exhibition entitled “Satire and Cultural Heroes.”
“We feature faculty and staff alumni work here to show our support and exhibit wonderful art that was created so close to home,” said Marion Fisher, OSU Faculty Club Art Coordinator. “It is an honor to have Sidney’s work here because he has been such a well-respected individual of this university for so many years.”
Chafetz, a professor emeritus of art, retired in 1982 to devote himself full-time to his creative art after 34 years of teaching at OSU. Although he is retired, he has never stopped teaching nor learning when it comes to his work.
“Teaching is the ideal occupation for an artist,” Chafetz said. “You have an opportunity to learn from your colleagues and your students while gaining a greater outlook on your own work.”
Chafetz concentrates on printmaking art with woodcuts, etching and lithography because, he said, the work is never the same, as no two works can ever be identical.
“It is very congenial to the vision of my art and a very democratic form of art,” Chafetz said. “The process of printmaking leads to many originals, so that there is never a copy, and each work stands alone.”
Chafetz strives to use art as an educator rather than merely entertainment. He dismisses the notion that art should “keep them entertained” but rather tries to teach.
“I like to think that there is a lot to be learned in art,” Chafetz said. “If taught right, art can be one the most brilliant educators that the world has to offer.”
From Walt Whitman to Sigmund Freud, Chafetz portrays a number of distinguished individuals in “Satire and Cultural Heroes” who have contributed to the society that they lived in.
Lining the walls of the Faculty Club are colored and black and white prints that depict satirical aspects that display Chafetz’s sense of humor regarding American politics and history. Satire has always been a large part of his work, as it allows an “outlet of pointing out the pretentious aspects of society where comedy and sadness go hand in hand.”
“He allows his art to reveal the notion of being comfortable enough in society to raise questions and find humor at the same time,” Fisher said.
OSU has been a large basis for many of his work, with concentration on the faculty. One of his favorite works, “Man of Good Will,” shows three faculty members in conversation, sporting caps and gowns.
“Professors are the sole creators of the people that run this world,” Chafetz said. “Faculty are the hope of our society. They strive to create good and honest citizens and should be commended for their efforts as wonderful individuals.”
Chafetz, who is Jewish and has both Russian and American backgrounds, received considerable recognition for his 1990 singular exhibition, “Perpetrators.” This emotionally-strong exhibit portrayed a series of portraits of the men who helped Hitler implement power and policies rather than focusing on the victims during the Holocaust.
“Each drawn portrait included a biographical text that helped satisfy the twin poles of my aesthetic and didactic interests: work that achieves a formal coherence and at the same time has educational impact,” Chafetz said in a statement.
Ohio has been quite significant in Chafetz’s success. After touring Ohio for two years, he was honored for his exhibition, “Sid Chafetz: 30 years in Ohio” and had his largest retrospective display open at the Wexner Center for the Arts in 1988. A complete catalog of Chafetz’s work was published in shortly after. In 2001, Chafetz donated an entire collection of his work to the Columbus Museum of Art. His work is also represented by the Lanning Gallery of Columbus.
“Columbus has always been very good to me and I love having the opportunity to be here as I continue to grow as an artist and as an individual,” Chafetz said.
A native of Rhode Island, Chafetz earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1947. He has attended the Academy Julian in Paris as well as the L’Ecole American Beaux Arts in Fontainebleau, where he earned many honors for his artwork.
