Part Asian - 100% Asian
Originally a derogatory label derived from the Hawaiian word for half, Hapa is now being embraced as a term of pride by many people of Asian or Pacific Rim mixed-race heritage. Award-winning film producer and artist Kip Fulbeck has created a forum in word and image for Hapas to answer the question they’re nearly always asked: “What are you?” Fulbeck’s frank, head-on portraits are paired with the sitters’ own statements of identity. A work of intimacy, beauty, and powerful self-expression, Part Asian, 100% Hapa is the book Fulbeck says he wishes he had growing up. An introduction to the rest of the world and an affirmation for Hapas themselves who now number in the millions it offers a new perspective on a rapidly growing population.
What I like about this book is that you get to see a broad range of faces and mixes. Even though it focuses on a particular group (Hapa/Asian Mixes ) and the notes written reflect a great deal of variation, the sentiments are all ones that people of other mixed groups can relate to.
Another intersting aspect of this book is the broad range of ages of people in the book. Older generations of mixed heritage people have historically had very different experiences with being mixed, how they were treated by others, and what they were told about the normality of being mixed. Contrast that with the notes from some of the younger participants who have grown up in communities where being mixed heritage is not as unusual as it might have been for some of the older subjects.
This is a great book to just sit back and look through. Its not a long book, but its certainly one that you could go back to from time to time just to read what people had to say.
Posted on Sunday, August 31st, 2008 in the following categories: 2006, Asian/Hapa, Book, Kip Fulbeck, Photography
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