Interviews

1. Early consciousness of identity

2. Finding parallels through art

3. Refusing to use a Chinese name to identify as Asian American

4. The Hapa Project

5. Perceptions of uniqueness

6. Defusing myths through The Hapa Project

7. Difficulty responding to the question "What are you?"

8. Lessons learned from The Hapa Project

9. Differing responses by gender to the Hapa Project

10. Identity as a conscious ongoing process

11. Japanese Americans are more aware of their Hapa identity

12. Hapa as his primary identity

13. Discomfort at being labeled by others

14. International dimensions of hapa identity

15. Issues of identity outside of America

16. Imposing identity upon others

17. Changing fortunes of "identity art"

18. The right to say who you are

19. Defining the term "Hapa"

Fulbeck,Kip

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

Differing responses by gender to the Hapa Project

One thing I found that was really interesting that I would not have guessed is if I photographed a thousand people, I’d say two-thirds to three-quarters were women. I would not have guessed that would have happened and I realized—it made me think a lot about why more women—and it’s not like there’s biologically more women Hapas, you know. It made me realize that maybe women in this country are more likely to deal with this question and they’re more interested in it and they’re more ready to volunteer to talk about it.

That was a big insight to me because certainly I talk a lot about masculinity in my work, and I talk a lot about how we measure strength in this country versus in eastern philosophy. I mean we have these things of strength here, I talk with my classes about having to measure masculine strength here, “Oh, well he doesn’t cry, he’s so strong,” you know. “His father died, he didn’t cry” of “He fought off this intruder” or “He beat this guy up”. You know, versus this kind of strength where mastering quantum physics or mastering the violin or taking care of elderly parents, that amount of strength isn’t valued in this country. And I think those two things kind of go hand in hand, that talking about yourself and willing to be photographed and talk about yourself isn’t perhaps a masculine strength that’s valued in this country. So I learned—that brought that home to me, that’s something that I’ve always explored.

gender hapa identity racially mixed people

Date: May 3, 2006

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Jim Bower

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.

Interviewee Bio

Kip Fulbeck was born in 1965 to a Chinese mother and English/Irish father. At age five, he was told by his full-blooded Chinese cousins that he was Hapa. He never gave much thought to the term as a child. As he grew older, faced with the dearth of knowledge relating to mixed-race identity (or worse, the negative connotations associated with it), he began thinking about ways to promote a more realistic and human portrayal of Hapa identity.

Fulbeck chose to explore this issue by creating the Hapa Project as a forum for Hapa to answer the question “What are you?” in their own words and be photographed in simple head-on portraits. He has now photographed over 1000 people from all ages and walks of life. The project is now a book, Part Asian, 100% Hapa (Chronicle Books, 2006) and an exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum from June 8 through October 29, 2006 titled kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa.

Kip Fulbeck has been making films and art about Hapa identity since 1990. Known as the nation's leading artist on the identity, multiracial/ethnicity, and art and pop culture, he has spoken and exhibited his award-winning films, performance, and photography throughout the world. Fulbeck is currently Professor and Chair of Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is a three-time recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Member Award and also an affiliate faculty member in Asian American Studies and Film Studies. (May 3, 2006)

Read the Discover Nikkei article by Kip Fulbeck:
kip fulbeck: part asian, 100% hapa – an artist’s thoughts