THE BOX is titled Puppet Theater. It is a piece of art embedded with small puppets taking in a puppet performance. I’m at a show within a show—me watching puppets, puppets watching puppets. It’s all very surreal. “Shadow Boxes: A 3-D Illustrated History of Theater” by San Jose State University art teacher Raquel Coelho consists of intricately designed shadow boxes occupied by a world of miniature clay creatures enacting various historical examples of theatrical performance.
The level of detail in the works is captivating. “I like to improvise a little bit,” Coelho says, “but if you look at the work there is definitely a consistent style.” The use of handmade paper makes for a soft touch of background color accentuating the materials before it, with the aluminum wiring used to support the tiny figures protruding here and there from the outline of a wrist or waistline. Not without cause though. Every little mistake done so purposefully is meant to draw attention.
“They’re choices that I make,” Coelho says. “There’s definitely that element of something that’s more detailed and that took me a while, mixed with something that’s a little bit raw. These are things that are just particular to my style, I think.”
Art has been with Coelho since adolescence whether it was illustration, painting or craft making. After finishing a degree in industrial design at a college in São Paulo, Brazil, she was awarded a scholarship to an institution of her choice. Moving to New York in 1994 was not a difficult decision.
While attending the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, she enrolled in an animation course and became acquainted with a professor who almost immediately recognized her talent. He turned out to be a director for Blue Sky Studios and offered her a job as a 3-D animator.
At Blue Sky, Coelho was part of a team that worked on the short film Buddy, which won an Academy Award in 1999. After two years with the company, she relocated to California and landed a position with DreamWorks, only staying for a short time before moving to Tippett Studio in Berkeley, where she has done most of her work.
With Tippett, Coelho has helped to create some familiar animated characters. Working on the 2006 movie Charlotte’s Web was one her favorites, because she found the storyline to be heartfelt and the film adorable. Her team was responsible for animating one of the main characters, Templeton, in addition to a few other feature characters.
A long way from Charlotte’s Web, she says, was Hellboy, a unique experience given the dynamic of integrating live action with computer animation. “I think the animation has a high level of detail, in the muscles and everything you need to feel that it’s real. I love that type of work, it’s very detail-oriented. It’s very different than what I do with the boxes. With the shadow boxes it’s more intuitive.”
Coelho’s interest in puppets began at an early age. As a child, she began creating handmade dolls out of soda cans and building stages and sets to help bring them to life. At 16, Coelho and a handful of classmates achieved local celebrity with a six-month stint performing with puppets at professional theaters.
It has been more than 10 years since Coelho first moved to California. She currently lives in San Francisco and teaches in the animation and illustration program at SJSU. Her craft has come full circle in this way. She can pass on to her students everything that experience in the field has given her.
Much of what Coelho has accomplished as an artist stems from her belief that passion is limitless. “Art has that power,” she says. “It’s full of heart, and you can really touch people sometimes, even change their lives. And so I always liked art. It’s my life.”
SHADOW BOXES: A 3-D ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THEATER by Raquel Coelho runs through March 28 at the Mohr Gallery, Community School of Music and Art, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. (650.917.6800)
