As an undergraduate, Leah Cooper ’00 intended to move to Japan to work after college. She was a Japanese studies major (with an English minor) and had participated in the Japan Study program at Waseda University in Tokyo. Based at Earlham College, Japan Study is one of the oldest and most comprehensive higher education programs between the U.S. and Japan, linking member colleges of the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest to Waseda in Tokyo. Japan Study, which celebrated its 60th year in 2023, was the reason Cooper, who is a watercolorist, photographer and writer — a self-described “polymath” — chose to study at Earlham.
“I immediately discovered Earlham had established Japan Study in 1963, and that it was one of the oldest and most comprehensive programs in higher education exchange with Japan. It had a strong reputation,” she says. “Earlham is a place where you can learn very deeply about foundational aspects of the culture.”
After graduation, Cooper moved to Boston for the next eight years, where she worked as a DJ photographer (capturing DJs in the excitement of their work). Her approach is highly influenced by her degree in Japanese studies, using a slow flash to create rainbow trails while moving the camera. She calls the photographs the “Bodhisattva” series because they echo Japanese artistic styles and aesthetics.
Cooper moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to pursue photography. She apprenticed with a commercial photographer and worked on sets of independent feature films and shorts with up-and-coming filmmakers, including students at the American Film Institute, UCLA and USC.
Eventually, she started experimenting with painting. She wanted to apply her Waseda studies with masters of Japanese calligraphy to bring more aspects of Japanese art and culture into her paintings — such as waka (poetry), reiki (healing modality), the heart sutra, acupuncture and meridians.
Then, approximately seven years ago, Cooper became chronically ill and needed to slow down. “I didn’t have much energy,” she says. “All I could really do was work and do one thing a day.” Painting became too difficult, until she moved into sumi ink. Now, she uses watercolor to explore her interest in color theory, but she also loves painting birds, mountains and clouds.
As part of her multifaceted approach to the arts, Cooper is also working on a film script. Her partner is a filmmaker who recently filmed a feature in Japan. Now that she is fully recovered health wise, Cooper plans to return to Japan to explore artistically and visit with old friends from Earlham.
Written by Kelsey Mackey