Volume 137, Issue 8
SHAPIRO'S ALTER EGOS: Instructor's wit shines in eclectic performance
BY SUMMERS HENDERSON
Contributing Writer
 PHOTO BY NATHAN WEYLAND |
Shapiro, a public speaking instructor at City College, is also a performance artist whose work examines how culture influences perception.
CultureWorks, a group foun-ded by Shapiro, recently staged a show at San Francisco’s Brava Theater that included six
collaborative pieces, showing off Shapiro’s elastic performance style and creative wit through a combination of theater, music, dance, video and stand-up comedy.
“It’s not traditional theater,” Shapiro said. “I like to tickle people’s minds, just enough that they begin to consider possibilities.”
The show, “The Institute for Relativity Studies: Orientation,” introduced Shapiro’s alter ego, Professor Whittey, whose fictitious institute researches problems in culture.
In one piece, Shapiro appears as Professor Whittey’s mother, a frail, old woman who advocates “Taco Bell Islam,” a policy of assimilating foreign cultures through second-rate imitation. Underneath Mother Whittey’s folksy wisdom is a satire of commercialization and imperialism.
“Laughter opens the mind,” Shapiro said. “Laughter helps generate distance, which allows you to explore something that could be too explosive, too unsettling to really dig into.”
The cultural investigations in “Orientation” include a rendering of an African myth about the origin of white people, which infers that white people began as witches.
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Shapiro became interested in other cultures while an undergraduate at San Diego State University. He took a course in intercultural communication and was impacted by the idea that our identities are shaped by socialization.
“I began to ask questions of myself,” Shapiro said. “Where we come from is a grand mystery. It’s dangerous to think you know the answer.”
Shapiro said that what he does on stage mirrors what he teaches his students in basic public speaking class. He analyzes the audience and context, and then chooses the best way to communicate his message.
Shapiro enjoys balancing creative work and teaching. “City College is a cross section of San Francisco culture,” he said. “The students keep me connected to everyday life.”
“I think Professor Shapiro makes a really fun class, because he’s entertaining and at the same time it seems like he has a really good understanding of his students,” said Jonathan Villar, a student in Shapiro’s speech class.
Shapiro tries to educate his audiences and not patronize them. “You can never dictate behavioral change,” he said. “You can only put information out there so that people come to that realization themselves.”
PROJECT PRESERVATION: Caring for 85 priceless works of art
BY SARAH SARKISIAN
Contributing Writer
 PHOTO BY COLLEEN CUMMINS |
Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. and Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Peter Gold-stein have taken an active role in securing funds to maintain and preserve the estimated 85 works of art on campus, which include Diego Rivera’s “Pan American Unity” mural and the new Olmec Head, “San Lorenzo #1.”
In September 2004, the Board of Trustees approved a resolution stating that approximately $40,000 a year will be allocated for restoring campus art.
Some of this money will go to projects like the cleaning and preserving of the two Volz murals on the north and south exteriors of Science Hall. The two-phase project will begin with the north mural in January.
City College owns all of the artwork on campus with the exception of five pieces, which have been loaned to the college for permanent display by the San Francisco Art Commission.
There is a $250,000 insurance policy on the artwork, but art’s the value exceeds the policy.
While the artwork has gained appreciation, Bergman said students have mutilated the bottom quarters of Frederick E. Olm-stead’s “Science and Theory” mu-rals over the years. The murals are located in the Science Hall lobby.
Students, faculty and staff volunteered their time in 2002 and successfully restored the murals. Additional measures are being taken to ensure their security and prevent future vandalism.
The “Pan American Unity” mural will be mounted higher and covered by glass when the new Center for Pan-American Unity is built to replace the Diego Rivera Theatre.
In addition, the Olmec Head will be coated with a material to keep paint from adhering to it. A security camera may be installed on the Creative Arts building as an extra precaution.
Bergman is happy with the changes taking place to preserve City College’s art collection. She said the administration is showing responsible stewardship.
“We are on our way to something fabulous and it is too much to hope for.” She said.