Press
Kip of All Trades
Ted Lai, Yolk Magazine
winter/spring issue 1998
Standing at a well-toned 6'1", it's a surprise that Kip Fulbeck lacks
definition. In a world where we are often defined by what we do, Fulbeck,
a recently tenured professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara,
is also a photographer, a standup comedian, a performance artist, a former
state lifeguard, an award-winning filmmaker and a writer. He pushes the
boundaries of expression via his artwork and emerges as a Renaissance man.
Born of a Chinese mother and a Caucasian father, Fulbeck's life and work
revolve around his identity as an Asian American man, a Hapa man. Although
most writers and artists base their work on life experiences, his material
often goes much deeper than that. His work becomes a soul piece, baring
all his pain and frustration for the audience to see, experience, and
learn from.
Currently Fulbeck is working on his first book, Paper Bullets, a collection
of stories and life experiences, that deal with everything from growing
up Hapa to Nancy Kerrigan to surfing. Written in his own unique style,
he says, "It really pushes the envelope of traditional poetry, or
prose, or whatever you want to call it. And that way, it's not just the
politics I'm pushing, it's also the stylistics ... the composition of
it."
Like much of Fulbeck's other work, the stories in Paper Bullets often
focus on sex and death, and offer a mix of humor, sadness, offensiveness
and edge. No matter what, the work is always thought provoking. "Hopefully
I'm putting enough fluff, like the funny sex stories, so that people are
gonna want to read it. Those are funny, and I think they're important,
because it does form identity. But there's so much shit I'm hiding in
there. I'm putting in all these little things that people will find. The
real shit is the stuff that I think people don't want to pay attention
to sometimes. You have to do a lot of fluff to put in one real part."
Fulbeck is also working on numerous other projects, including three more
films. One deals with Star Trek's Mr. Spock, the second focuses on euthanasia,
and the third features him in Speedos, wrestling with a dog. He stays
busy with these projects, Paper Bullets, and the many classes he leads.
Also a performer, Fulbeck has done his stand-up routine, Speakin' Up
the Yin/Yang, to packed audiences. It's a fast-paced, funny group of skits
that jump around and keeps the audience thinking. His films, including
Banana Split, Asian Studs Nightmare and Questions for 28 Kisses, have
won numerous awards. Like a master musician, he is able to use his voice
to convey the feelings and thoughts perfectly. Regardless of how successful
he's been, his work has also received its fair share of criticism. Some
critics think he's sexist, racist, or too controversial. An extremely
open-minded person, Fulbeck has just learned how to pick a subject he
believes most strongly in, and focus on it for a piece.
Fulbeck is realistic about creating work that pleases all parties. "Yeah,
I support this, this, and this, but if I try to do this shotgun thing,
there's no power to the work, you know? If I try to talk in a real, careful,
nonsexist, totally nonconfrontational, politically correct way, who's
gonna listen? Yeah, [my work's] really sexist. Yeah, it's really racist,
but if you get past all of that ... I still am naive enough to think that
I can do something to make this world a better place, you know? There's
some of us artists that still believe that's what we do it for, trying
to make things better. And that's what I'm trying to do."
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