Lawrence Keith "Kip" Fulbeck is an American artist,

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

performer, filmmaker and author. Fulbeck's work explores

identity politics Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...

. His

mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

ethnic background is English, Welsh, Irish and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

. He is best known for his work addressing

Hapa Hapa is a Hawaiian word for someone of multiracial ancestry. In Hawaii, the word refers to any person of mixed ethnic heritage, regardless of the specific mixture.: "Thus, for locals in Hawai’i, both hapa or hapa haole are used to depict p ...

and multiracial identity and as the creator of The Hapa Project. Fulbeck attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

, where he was a four-year

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n 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

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, MTV,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

and ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

''. 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, the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and the Asia Society Houston.

Influences

Fulbeck studied Visual Arts at the

with

David Antin David Abram Antin (February 1, 1932 – October 11, 2016) was an American poet, critic and performance artist. Education and early career Antin was born in New York City in 1932. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, he earned h ...

Eleanor Antin Eleanor Antin (née Fineman; February 27, 1935) is an American performance artist, film-maker, installation artist, conceptual artist and feminist artist. Early life and education Eleanor Fineman was born in the Bronx on February 27, 1935. Her p ...

Allan Kaprow Allan Kaprow (August 23, 1927 – April 5, 2006) 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 ...

Lisa Lowe Lisa Lowe is Samuel Knight Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration at Yale University. Prior to Yale, she taught at the University of California, San Diego, and Tufts University. She began as a scholar of French and comp ...

Martha Rosler Martha Rosler (born 1943) is an American artist. She is a conceptual artist who works in photography and photo text, video, installation, sculpture, and performance, as well as writing about art and culture. Rosler's work is centered on everyday ...

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 The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universi ...

. His second, a photographic book entitled ''Part Asian, 100% Hapa'' was published in 2006 by Chronicle Books. It features a foreword by

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The ...

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 The is located in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Founded in 1992, it is located in the Little Tokyo area near downtown. The museum is an affiliate within the Smithsonian Affil ...

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 Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

, Kat Von D,

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

Tera Patrick Tera Patrick (born Linda Ann Hopkins; July 25, 1976) is an American former pornographic actress and model who was the '' Penthouse'' Pet of the Month for February 2000 and is an inductee of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. She is ...

Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from ...

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

and

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. He is best known as the winner of the third season of American reality show ''Projec ...

. 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 Maya Kasandra Soetoro-Ng (; ; born August 15, 1970) is an Indonesian-American academic, who is a faculty specialist at the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based in the College of Social Sciences at the University ...

and an afterword by Cher. An accompanying solo exhibition exhibited at the

. Fulbeck is represented by the Faye Bender Literary Agency.

Teaching

Fulbeck teaches as a Professor of Art at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, where he initiated and taught the first

Spoken Word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

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 The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Additional activities

Fulbeck is extensively tattooed, and wears the work of Horitaka, Horitomo, and

Horiyoshi III is a ''horishi'' (tattoo artist), specializing in Japanese traditional full-body tattoos, or "suits," called ''Irezumi'' or ''Horimono''. Biography Nakano was inspired when he saw a ''Yakuza'' (Japanese gangster) with a full-body tattoo in a p ...

. He is also a multiple 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 is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

from Steve Ubl. An avid guitar player, he produces videos for the

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan found ...

company.

References

External links

Kip Fulbeck Artist Site
* * *
CNN segment on Kip Fulbeck

CNN's Betty Nguyen interviews Kip Fulbeck about Hapa identity
*
Kip Fulbeck
in th
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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulbeck, Kip 1965 births Living people American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Welsh descent American film directors of Chinese descent University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, San Diego alumni University of California, Santa Barbara faculty American spoken word artists Multiracial affairs in the United States Slam poets American motivational speakers People from Fontana, California Film directors from California