Kip Fulbeck
Encyclopedia
Kip Fulbeck is an American artist, spoken word
performer, filmmaker and author. Fulbeck's work explores identity politics
.
His mixed race ethnic background is Cantonese
, English, Irish, and Welsh
. He is best known for his work addressing Hapa
and multiracial
identity, and as the creator of The Hapa Project
.
Fulbeck attended UCLA, Dartmouth College
, and the University of California, San Diego
, where he was a four-year NCAA All-American Swimmer and 1988 Athlete of the Year. He earned his MFA from UCSD in 1992.
, MTV, PBS, and The Today Show. He has directed twelve films (including Banana Split; Some Questions for 28 Kisses; Sex, Love, & Kung Fu; and Lilo & Me), published four books, and keynoted scores of conferences and festivals nationwide. He is a prominent speaker on the college circuit.
Much of Fulbeck's work is autobiographical, combining personal stories with political activism, pop culture and stand-up comedy.
with David Antin
, Eleanor Antin
, Allan Kaprow
, Lisa Lowe
, Martha Rosler
, and Phel Steinmetz.
. It features a foreword by Sean Lennon
and an afterword by Paul Spickard. Many of the photographs from this book were featured in a solo show of the same name at the Japanese American National Museum
in 2006. The show is currently touring nationally.
Permanence: Tattoo Portraits (also by Chronicle Books
) was published in 2008, and features photographic portraits and handwritten personal statements by tattooed individuals from all walks of life including celebrities Margaret Cho
, Kat Von D
, Slash
, Scott Ian
, Joan Jett
, Tera Patrick
, Scott Weiland
, Paul Stanley
and Jeffrey Sebelia
.
Fulbeck's fourth book entitled Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids, was published by Chronicle Books
in March 2010, and features a foreword by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng
and an afterword by Cher
. An accompanying solo exhibition exhibited at the Japanese American National Museum
.
Fulbeck is represented by the Faye Bender Literary Agency.
, where he initiated and taught the first Spoken Word
course ever offered as part of a collegiate art program's core curriculum. He received the UCSB Academic Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2009, and has been named an Outstanding Faculty Member four times by the Office of Residential Life. He is also an affiliate faculty in Asian American Studies and Film & Media Studies at UCSB, and has taught as a visiting professor of Asian American Studies
at the University of California, Berkeley
.
. He is also a national champion and world-ranked masters swimmer, ocean lifeguard, and junior lifeguard instructor. In 2010, he was named Athlete of the Year by the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table. He received his black belt in shotokan karate from Steve Ubl. An avid guitar player, he produces videos for the Seymour Duncan
company.
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
performer, filmmaker and author. Fulbeck's work explores identity politics
Identity politics
Identity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
.
His mixed race ethnic background is Cantonese
Cantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
, English, Irish, and Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
. He is best known for his work addressing Hapa
Hapa
Hapa is a Hawaiian language term used to describe a person of mixed Asian or Pacific Islander racial or ethnic heritage.-Etymology:In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half...
and multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
identity, and as the creator of The Hapa Project
The Hapa Project
The Hapa Project is a multiracial identity art project created by American artist Kip Fulbeck. The project embodies a range of mediums, including a published book, traveling photographic exhibition, satellite community presentations, and online communities....
.
Fulbeck attended UCLA, Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, where he was a four-year NCAA All-American Swimmer and 1988 Athlete of the Year. He earned his MFA from UCSD in 1992.
Art
Fulbeck's artwork includes video, spoken word, photography and slam poetry. He has exhibited and performed in over 20 countries, and has been featured on CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MTV, PBS, and The Today Show. He has directed twelve films (including Banana Split; Some Questions for 28 Kisses; Sex, Love, & Kung Fu; and Lilo & Me), published four books, and keynoted scores of conferences and festivals nationwide. He is a prominent speaker on the college circuit.
Much of Fulbeck's work is autobiographical, combining personal stories with political activism, pop culture and stand-up comedy.
Exhibitions
Fulbeck's group and solo exhibition record is expansive. Group exhibitions include the Whitney Museum of American Art ('93 Biennial), Getty Museum (California Video), Science Museum of Minnesota (Race: Are We So Different?), Singapore International Film Festival, Bonn Videonale, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Made in California), World Wide Video Festival, and Sydney International Film Festival. Solo exhibitions include the Japanese American National Museum (2006 & 2010), Space180 Gallery, Ghettogloss Gallery, A/P/A Institute, Invisible NYC Gallery, the University of North Carolina, the Field Museum, and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center.Influences
Fulbeck studied Visual Arts at the University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
with David Antin
David Antin
David Antin is a United States poet and critic. In the late 1960s, Antin began performing extemporaneously, improvising "talk poems" at readings and exhibitions...
, Eleanor Antin
Eleanor Antin
Eleanor Antin is an American photographer, author, and artist working with video, film, performance, and drawing. Originally from New York, USA, she is currently based in Southern California where she is a professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego...
, Allan Kaprow
Allan Kaprow
Allan Kaprow was an American painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. He helped to develop the "Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. His Happenings - some 200 of them - evolved over the years...
, Lisa Lowe
Lisa Lowe
Lisa Lowe is a professor of comparative literature at the University of California, San Diego and a noted scholar in the fields of comparative literature, American studies, Asian American studies and the cultural politics of colonialism and migration. She was Visiting Professor of American Studies...
, Martha Rosler
Martha Rosler
Martha Rosler is an American artist. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, where she now lives. She graduated from Brooklyn College and the University of California, San Diego . Rosler works in video, photo-text, installation, and performance, as well as writing about art and culture...
, and Phel Steinmetz.
Published works
Fulbeck's first book, a fictional autobiography entitled Paper Bullets was published in 2001 by the University of Washington Press. His second, a photographic book entitled Part Asian, 100% Hapa was published in 2006 by Chronicle BooksChronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...
. It features a foreword by Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
and an afterword by Paul Spickard. Many of the photographs from this book were featured in a solo show of the same name at the Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
in 2006. The show is currently touring nationally.
Permanence: Tattoo Portraits (also by Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...
) was published in 2008, and features photographic portraits and handwritten personal statements by tattooed individuals from all walks of life including celebrities Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
, Kat Von D
Kat Von D
Katherine Drachenberg , known professionally as Kat Von D and who has given her name as Katherine von Drachenberg in two German interviews is an American tattoo artist and television personality...
, Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, Scott Ian
Scott Ian
Scott Ian Rosenfeld , better known by the stage name Scott Ian, is an American musician, best known as the rhythm & lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Anthrax. Ian is also the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death...
, Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
, Tera Patrick
Tera Patrick
Linda Ann Hopkins, better known as Tera Patrick is a former American pornographic actress.-Early life:Tera Patrick was born Linda Ann Hopkins in Great Falls, Montana. While at Boise State, Patrick earned an AAS degree in nursing and a BS in Biology.-Career:Patrick moved to New York City and her...
, Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
, Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
and Jeffrey Sebelia
Jeffrey Sebelia
Jeffrey Sebelia is an American fashion designer and founder of the clothing label Cosa Nostra, which he headed from a loft on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles...
.
Fulbeck's fourth book entitled Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids, was published by Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...
in March 2010, and features a foreword by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States. She was previously a high school history teacher and university instructor in Hawaii.-Early life:...
and an afterword by Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
. An accompanying solo exhibition exhibited at the Japanese American National Museum
Japanese American National Museum
The opened its doors in 1992. The idea for the museum was originally thought up by Bruce Kaji with help from other notable Japanese American people at the time. The museum is located in the Little Tokyo an area near downtown Los Angeles, California. It is devoted to preserving the history and...
.
Fulbeck is represented by the Faye Bender Literary Agency.
Teaching
Fulbeck teaches as a Professor of Art at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
, where he initiated and taught the first Spoken Word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
course ever offered as part of a collegiate art program's core curriculum. He received the UCSB Academic Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2009, and has been named an Outstanding Faculty Member four times by the Office of Residential Life. He is also an affiliate faculty in Asian American Studies and Film & Media Studies at UCSB, and has taught as a visiting professor of Asian American Studies
Asian American Studies
Asian American Studies is an academic discipline which studies the experience of people of Asian ancestry in America. Closely related to other Ethnic Studies disciplines such as African American Studies, Latino/a Studies, and Native American Studies, Asian American Studies critically examines the...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Additional activities
Fulbeck is extensively tattooed, and wears the work of Horitaka, Horitomo, and Horiyoshi IIIHoriyoshi III
Horiyoshi III is a horishi tattoo artist, specializing in Japanese traditional full-body tattoos, or "suits," called Irezumi or Horimono.-Biography:Horiyoshi III was born Yoshihito Nakano in 1946....
. He is also a national champion and world-ranked masters swimmer, ocean lifeguard, and junior lifeguard instructor. In 2010, he was named Athlete of the Year by the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table. He received his black belt in shotokan karate from Steve Ubl. An avid guitar player, he produces videos for the Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
company.
External links
- Kip Fulbeck Artist Site
- CNN segment on Kip Fulbeck
- CNN's Betty Nguyen interviews Kip Fulbeck about Hapa identity
- Kip Fulbeck in the Video Data Bank
- "Kip Fulbeck: Part Asian, 100% Hapa" at the Japanese American National Museum
- kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa – An Artist's Thoughts
- mixedkids.com Project Site