Leesa Haapapuro is an artist and instructor in Dayton, Ohio. She's taught at a number of local colleges, including Wright State University and Sinclair Community College.Leesa's work explores the boundaries of form, while exploring the place of an artist in the world. As she writes in her artist statement: "I have been exploring my place as an artist in society, questioning conflicting desires for peaceful isolation versus a need for a greater sense of community. I try to balance my solitary studio practice with efforts to connect with others."
Her efforts to "connect with others" are often radical and transformative. In 2007, she started a portrait project at the Datyon Visual Arts Center. Dubbed, "Portraits in Progress," the work invited people throughout Dayton to stop in, model and pose for drawings and sculptures. Leesa built a portable sculpture studio for the project, carting it with her throughout the city -- inviting passersby to pose, observe and interact with the artist at work.
"The portraits would be yours," Leesa wrote on her signage, "but I ask that you bring the sculpture downtown on May 16th during the Urban Nights event for a 'reunion show.'" Anyone and everyone was invited to participate, including fellow artist Amy Kollar Anderson.In 2007, Leesa was selected as Sculptor-in-Residence at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire. The five-month stint allowed her to keep an open studio 40 hours a week. "It allowed intensive solitary studio time interspersed with opportunities to interact with those interested in making art," Leesa writes. "During my 5 month residency, I focused on making a memorial for my brother, who died of cancer last summer."
The work would eventually become, "Memento" -- a towering tribute to her brother. Upon her return to Dayton, she invited the public to contribute to the sculpture. "I invite you to participate, to make a tangible memory: a memento," Leesa wrote. "I will provide materials, however you may want to bring specific images or small objects." Leesa's committment to making others a part of her work challenges what it means to be an artist.