Discovering ART & Improvisational Comedy with San Diego ART Institute NEW power-house Director, Ginger Schulick-Porcella
On Friday, May 23rd, Frau Kolb caught up with Ginger Shulick-Porcella at Finest City Improv in North Park, for “The World According to…
A self possessed woman with piercing eyes and a powerful presence, Schulick-Porcella is now the Director of The San Diego Art Institute
Her glittering eyes… caught the stage light, not only did Schulick-Porcella look entirely charming in her black jeans and fringe black cowboy boots, topped by a primitive rough cloth, blazer… She shared of herself with fearless aplomb. Unperturbed by the comics running amok in their shredded version of her condensed, “Life Story.” Erect in posture, alert of mind, Schulick-Porcella held her own against a way-ward troupe of merry-makers, who play-perform by skimming data from the surface of a public-person’s identity and then creating an on-stage hash-up of rehearsed and well-timed gags; spinning the material into tinsel hilarity. Drawing laughs out of an audience looking to see this week’s local personality, “roasted.”
Notably, Schulick-Porcella, talked of her gorgeous Puerto Rican “DEAD DOG BEACH,” rescue dog, “Maya Papaya,” a little girl of tremendous beauty, Schulick calls her, “PUP-l’britty.” Get it?
Maya Payaya is a stunner:
Hah!
Who doesn’t love a powerful young woman with a hand-made sweater-wearing dog? “Maya Papaya,” has side job, aside being a pampered pet, she models. Get that! Schulick-Porcella’s dog, M O D E L S in magazines. If that isn’t wild… well, I don’t know WHAT is… Anyway…
The little stage, bar, adjacent to a hotel, which also has a bar, in North Park, San Diego, a slightly seedy but always sweet neighborhood known for its Gay Bars, and its unending party atmosphere. The Finest City Improv has a cosy, inviting, vibe. It is an unassuming and approachable spot. (I, must admit, being tempted to jump on the stage and join the troupe. They really appear to be having a royal blast, lampooning Schulick’s very dry account of growing up somewhere rural with “lots of motorcycles, cars,” and “no animals, no cows, no sheep…” BAH! MOO! HONK! CACKLE! Snort. She said she was, “a horse riding and book reading girl.” These facts, I’m not sure the troupe knew what to make of her… the somewhat eerie cool, calculated—maybe–strange poise and well, when they asked her first impressions of San Diego, she said it was a “BRO-Town,” with too many FAKE friendly, “passive aggressive,” people whose immediate bid for intimacy, she finds off-putting. It warmed my heart to hear her put into words my own frustrations and feelings about ever-sunny San Diego’s yet famously flighty folks. We share a strong preference for succinct and straight forward communication styles: conventionally employed in Chicago, perhaps, and the east coast, A FUCK YOU is certainly (!) and undeniably crystal clear. Tah Dah!
Schulick-Porcella has a very determined air… Did I mention, that she was wearing a fitted little blazer emboldened by a primitive, almost savage looking, print? I really liked it… I’m very curious about young woman’s destiny. Will she triumph? She has a challenging BIG assignment before her… Will she turn the San Diego Arts Institute into a destination of note on the international art map of destinations? WE shall see… I vow to follow and document her progress on your behalf. I will also tell you:
She wears her hair slicked to one side like a naughty 1920’s flapper, she is decorated with numerous inky and intense tattoos, not the type that were designed to be hidden, they seem to drift in and out of view, butterflies of interior anatomical views and scrolling letters… This is no conventional “horse-riding and book reading,” human. She is a woman with spirit that evokes admiration at first glance because she is clearly at ease in her own skin. This is a quality that bodes well for the future of San Diego as a destination, a home, and a playground for power-house creatives, like Schulick herself, who has experience in performance and other modes of creative expression. Artist, Margaret Nobel said to Frau, “Ginger is funnier than the comedians.” It is true that she holds attention; like a bull’s eye. Let us SEE… what will she do with the San Diego Arts Institute to bring it into the crossing of Commerce, Art, Popularity, and Trending…* An art collector’s new perch… a public’s new source of inspiration, which is what any art institute should be, right?
WE, at www.talkinggrid.com, shall follow Schulick-Porcella’s progress and perhaps gain an intimate, cosy, and first hand understanding of how precisely one goes about transforming an arts institute into a “more inclusive,” and “dynamic,” destination.
In the meantime, scroll down for more “intimate ART Chat,” with artists; Don Porcella, Nancy Baker, and Terri Amig. Thank you for reading and please keep clicking, contributing, commenting, and sharing glimpses of the brilliant spark of truth that is YOU.
Much Love,
Frau Kolb
We’re concerned because Ginger Shulick Porcella has a bit of a history she has tried to leave behind in New York involving several accusations of her showing extreme favoritism toward some of her appointees whom she surrounded herself with. Also, she has run roughshod all over the existing infrastructure that the San Diego Art Institute and its staff have invested decades of their hard work and expertise into. It’s easy for a young brat to show up on the scene and change everything for the sake of change. Instead of working with SDAI’s Web Design crew she has cut all ties. She has also instigated a no tolerance type of policy, abruptly letting staff members go after 15 years of service. Again, its easy to be young and want to stir up the pot, but at the end of the day, I don’t see there being much substance behind her rhetoric. As some staff members have put it, “the honeymoon is already over and it may be a short marriage.”
Fascinating, Roark Dority! I’m glad to hear from you. I’ve never read a post as passionate as yours. I’m sure that you are “concerned.” I am, too. Ginger Shulick Porcella is a powerful young woman and for that and other distinguishing characteristics I admire her. Yet, we all know that we each have to find a way of making a mark, “changing the world,” if we can. Perhaps, Ms. Shulick Porcella is learning how to manage her staff, her resources. Successful managers the world over struggle to find balance in the professional arena. Yet, we all know that the San Diego Art Institute is not regarded as an up-to-date, vital, art resource. As the local art community grows, the need for leaders that can try new strategies… seems like a good idea to me. Moreover, if Ms. Shulick Porcella were to appoint me, I’d be delighted. Of course, that is not going to happen because I believe Ms. Shulick, based on a few face-to-face meetings, months ago… that this “young brat,” has big balls, and the mental muscle to MAYBE push through and create a vibrant art community that I might relate to. As it is, I travel to Paris, New York, London, and even LA to LOOK at art, to take in ideas, that are NOW. Contemporary art can not be the art that is SAFE or ART that is conventional… nope. I am not close to Ms. Shulick Porcella, personally, but that she has a strong powerful personality and that she is extremely bright are evident to me. She is not some that is looking to be everyone’s friend, not even mine! Hah!
This forum needed shanikg up and you’ve just done that. Great post!
– Yes, let’s see you. Set up that tripod. Do some sort of trick. Okay, no trick. Just smile. I’ve seen you a glspmie of a picture here or there, you are much to pretty not to be in more.