The Hapa Project - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Hapa Project is a 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

Cultural identity

Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....

art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

project created by American artist Kip Fulbeck

Kip Fulbeck

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...

. The project embodies a range of mediums, including a published book, traveling photographic exhibition, satellite community presentations, and online communities.

Overview

Fulbeck began the project in 2001, traveling the country photographing over 1200 volunteer subjects who self-identified as 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...

(defined for the project as mixed ethnic heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry) Each individual was photographed in a similar minimalist style (directly head-on, unclothed from the shoulders up, and without jewelry, glasses, excess make-up, or purposeful expression). After being photographed, participants chose their own racial/ethnic terms to describe themselves, then responded to the question "What are you?" in their own handwriting. The photographs, self-descriptions, and handwritten responses were then combined and displayed as a collection.

Over 1200 volunteer participants were photographed at dozens of shoots throughout California and Hawaii, as well as Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin.

Objective

The Hapa Project was created to promote awareness and recognition of the millions of multiracial/multiethnic individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander descent in the U.S; to give voice to multiracial people and previously ignored ethnic groups; to dispel myths of exoticism, hybrid vigor and racial homogeneity; to foster positive identity formation and self-image in multiracial children; and to encourage solidarity and empowerment within the multiracial/Hapa community. Fulbeck also notes that a main objective "... was to make the book I wish I owned when I was a kid. I never knew anyone else like me, going through things I went through, not fitting in, always having to choose sides ... Identity is a personal process and I’m adamant that it should be a personal decision, not one made by a community, a government or others."

Use of race as identifier

Fulbeck states that despite its utilization of common racial classifications, The Hapa Project is fundamentally a project about identity rather than a project about race: "It's about identity using race as a starting point." He argues that race in itself is not biologically determined, but socially created: "For the record, race is not a scientifically sound assumption. For example, there is no DNA difference between human beings. We are all African. Biologically, race does not exist. It is a social and cultural construct ... The U.S. is a country with a long history of social genocide (Native Americans, African slavery, etc.) and this was all due to the seeming differences we attributed to race. Yes, it is very convenient to categorize people according to race. It is also extremely inaccurate, however."

Conceptual strategies

The use of a clinical photographic style combined with the listing of the subject's ethnic heritage alongside their image visually quotes from various pseudo-scientific 18th and 19th century racial studies of Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...

, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach

Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was a German physician, physiologist and anthropologist, one of the first to explore the study of mankind as an aspect of natural history, whose teachings in comparative anatomy were applied to classification of what he called human races, of which he determined...

, and Arthur de Gobineau

Arthur de Gobineau

Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau was a French aristocrat, novelist and man of letters who became famous for developing the theory of the Aryan master race in his book An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races...

[See: Spickard, Paul, Almost All Aliens, Routledge, New York, NY 2007] However, Fulbeck's decision to have the subjects self-designate their ethnicity and to include their individual handwritten statements counters this methodology, giving ownership and responsibility to the subjects themselves. As historian Paul Spickard writes, "Kip Fulbeck is using the pictures to provoke and encourage his readers. He is using the old form, but with exactly opposite content." [See: Fulbeck, Kip, Part Asian, 100% Hapa, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2006, p. 261]

The project also plays upon and critiques the official photographs each person has taken for their driver's licenses, passports and other forms of identification.

A further strategy aimed at diminishing the power dynamic between photographer/subject was to have each participant choose their own image, with the option of re-photographing them if they desired. Fulbeck states, "... every participant not only got to write their statement the way they wanted to, they also got to pick their own image. A camera is a tremendously powerful tool and the power dynamic between photographer and subject is palpable. For this reason, I wanted to give some of the power back to the subjects. It was never going to be completely democratic – it is, after all, my concept, my project, and my design – but there are some strategies you can employ to make it less unilateral. Everyone got to see their image and choose to keep it or erase it and shoot again." One participant was re-photographed 27 times.

Offshoot projects

Numerous schools and community organizations have created similar projects inspired by Fulbeck's work.

Exhibition history

The Hapa Project publicly premiered in 2006 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...

with a 5-month solo exhibition entitled "kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa." The work has also exhibited at Space180 Gallery (San Francisco), Mandeville Gallery (New York), The Field Museum, University of North Carolina

University of North Carolina

Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...

, Oakland University

Oakland University

Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...

, Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...

, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

, and Woodward Academy

Woodward Academy

Woodward Academy is an independent, co-educational college-preparatory school for grades Pre-Kindergarten to 12 located in College Park, Georgia, within the Atlanta metropolitan area...

, among others. Sixteen images from the series are included in the Science Museum of Minnesota

Science Museum of Minnesota

The Science Museum of Minnesota is an American museum focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science and mathematics education. Founded in 1907 and located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the 501 nonprofit institution is staffed by over 500 employees and over 1,600 volunteers...

's exhibition Race: Are We So Different? currently touring nationally.

Many of the exhibitions include a participatory component where visitors can take part in the project by having their picture taken and writing an individual statement.

Public attention

The project has received both national and international news coverage, being featured on CNN

CNN

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

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, PBS, NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

, and Voice of America

Voice of America

Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...

. Major newspapers covering the project include The Los Angeles Times,Orange County Register, and Kyoto Journal. It has also been featured on dozens of websites exploring race and identity in the U.S.

Book

A book based on the project entitled Part Asian, 100% Hapa 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 2006. It features a foreword by musician 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 historian Paul Spickard.

The book includes portraits and statements from approximately 10% of the overall project participants. Fulbeck has discussed the difficulties in selecting these images from the overall pool, as well the problematic of selecting a single image for the book cover. He also has written about the conscious decision to dispel stereotypes of Hapa people all being conventionally attractive.

Influences

Fulbeck cites photographer Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg is an American photographer and writer whose work reflects long-term, in-depth collaborations with neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations.-Artistic career:...

and comic artist Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry is an American cartoonist and author. One of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, Barry is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek. Barry's cartoons often view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the...

as specifically influential to the creation of the project. Lynda Barry also participated in the project and is included in Part Asian, 100% Hapa. Fulbeck also credits historian Paul Spickard as a major influence, particularly his book Mixed Blood: Intermarriage & Ethnic: Intermarriage And Ethnic Identity In Twentieth Century America (University of Wisconsin Press, 1991) [See: Fulbeck, Kip, Part Asian, 100% Hapa, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2006, pp. 8, 55, 259].

Anonymity and celebrity

Participant names are listed alphabetically in both the photographic exhibition and book (without index to individual images). Fulbeck chose participant anonymity both for the safety of the children and as a thematic strategy. "...I wanted participants to have as blank a slate as possible to work with, to not be burdened by any pre-existing identifiers. It’s interesting with celebrities, because celebrities without their gear – their look or environment or entourage – don’t look like celebrities. They look like people. And that’s what I wanted. I could photograph Cher this way and she’d look like a regular person."

Celebrities in the project include Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry

, Wuv Bernardo, Asia Carrera

Asia Carrera

Asia Carrera is a former American pornographic actress.- Early life and education :Asia Carrera was born in New York City to a Japanese father and German mother, the eldest of four siblings. She was raised in Little Silver, New Jersey, attending the Little Silver School District and Red Bank...

, Karen David

Karen David

Karen Shenaz David is an Indian-born American actress and singer-songwriter who is best known for portraying Francesca Kirby in the BBC series Waterloo Road.- Early life :...

, Amy Hill

Amy Hill

Amy Marie Hill is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Mrs. DePaulo in That's So Raven, Mrs. Kwan in The Cat in the Hat, the Kylie Minogue-inspired singer, Penny Candy from The Puzzle Place, and the voice of Jasmine Lee Amy Marie Hill (born May 9, 1953) is an American...

, 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:...

, Liz Masakayan, Greg Pak

Greg Pak

Greg Pak is an American New York-based film director/comic book writer, known for his work on such books featuring the Hulk.-Early life:Pak is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a member of the Purple Crayon improv group, and studied history at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and film at...

, Sonny Sandoval

Sonny Sandoval

Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval is an American singer and rapper. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band P.O.D..-Biography:...

, and Sandra Tsing Loh

Sandra Tsing Loh

Sandra Tsing Loh is a Los Angeles, California-based writer, actress, performance-artist, pop-culture analyst, and radio commentator.-Biography:Loh is the daughter of a Chinese father and a German mother...

Emerging patterns

Two-thirds of the project volunteers were part Japanese-American. An overwhelming majority of participants were female, including some shoots where women outnumbered men 20:1.

Current work

Fulbeck followed Part Asian, 100% Hapa with the publication of Permanence: Tattoo Portraits by Kip Fulbeck in 2008 and Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids in 2010 (both by Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books

). Both books also had accompanying solo exhibitions. A major speaker on the college circuit, Fulbeck has spoken on The Hapa Project at hundreds of campuses throughout the U.S. He is represented by The Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles.

External links

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