Francesca Borgatta. Artist. Educator. Puppet Maker. Storyteller.
Arts Benicia has seen her work: expressive sculptures and puppets hanging from the wall, figures positioned on a wall tablet, or a small diorama set on a pedestal. These are the creations of Francesca Borgatta, a Berkeley based artist who creates characters that tell stories through gestures, dialogue, dance and narrative. Over a career devoted to artmaking, theater, and dance, she has been teaching students and community groups to make and use puppets to tell their own stories and respond to social issues. In the last twenty years, she has been exhibiting her characters in galleries; more recently, she has been experimenting with narrative video using her puppets and sets.
“My figures can be animal, human, or somewhere in between” she states.
“I start with a wire or wood armature to build the structure. Then I mold elements of the figure with the glue and add at least one layer of textile, which makes it very strong. I add new elements until one seems ‘wrong,’ then I remove it quickly. This is the point where the character begins to assert itself. I add all types of outer materials, including paint, collage, fur, or other fabric. When the figure is ready, I look for a base or find a way to hang it.” She uses found materials, natural and industrial. “I like how each object comes with a history and creates its own associations.”
Goldfish
About twelve years ago, Borgatta began learning the techniques of videography. “I use my own artwork; my masks, and my puppets are my characters. Video teaches me about placing characters in a landscape, which I see as an image of the interior mind of the character.” She has created about ten films to date. Her prize-winning Spectre’s Bride, a film based on a cantata by Antonin Dvorak, can be viewed through her website or YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcly3_aHud0&t=24s. Currently, she is working to create figures to tell the story of Dante’s Divine Comedy, as a tribute to her father and his Italian heritage.
Born in New York, Borgatta’s parents were artists and teachers.
Her mother, Scotch/Irish sculptor Isabel Borgatta, taught her papier maché and ceramics to make masks and puppets, and her father, the Mexican/Italian painter Robert Borgatta, taught her to draw. “I remember making figures out of lumps of clay with my sisters. I liked to use the figures to tell stories.” Modern dance lessons at the age of five with Jane Dudley introduced her to choreography as a vehicle for storytelling.
She attended summer theater camp after sixth grade and from then on, immersed herself in theater productions. As a teenager she began to experiment with using her own masks and puppets to produce plays. Enrolling at Sarah Lawrence College, she studied with Joseph Chaikan, and designed masks and costumes for theater productions. After two years, however, she joined Peter Schumann’s studio at the Bread and Puppet Theater in New York, creating large scale puppets for anti-war demonstrations in New York. “Peter’s ethos was a significant influence, and I still consider him a mentor.”
Shortly afterward, she was introduced to Indian dance traditions through a festival at Wesleyan College.
She studied dance with Tanjore Balasaraswati at the Center for World Music for fourteen years, fascinated by the use of improvisation and repeated gestures to communicate narrative. Later, she formed her own dance group, the Drum, Song, and Dance Company, drawing on her contacts from Sarah Lawrence.
Styx Boat
Borgatta moved to Berkeley in 1974 at the age of 24 when the Center for World Music started a world music program at Mills College. She met her future husband in Berkeley, sculptor Andrew Werby. She studied theater at San Francisco State and earned an M.A. in Multi-Disciplinary Theater in 1984.
Over the next several decades, Francesca has taught classes and workshops, performed, and fulfilled residency opportunities in many Bay Area schools and organizations. She has presented solo exhibitions of her sculptures and puppets as an Artist-in-Residence at St. Vincent de Paul in Oakland, at the Skyline College Gallery in San Bruno, Bridge Art Space in Richmond, the Sidequest Gallery in Oakland, The Reclaimed Room in San Francisco, the Orinda Library, the McCune Rare Book and Art Collection in Vallejo, and the Richmond Art Center.
“All my sculptures are characters that have stories,” she affirms.
“My intent is to generate a sense of ecological awareness. I teach people to look more closely at their environment and find their own materials. I believe the experience of making art should be available to everyone.”
To learn more about Francesca Borgatta, visit puppetfigures.com. Her “Dirty Dawg” is on display at Arts Benicia through October 6.
Feature image: Carpetseller sees the Djinns
