This is about a theft
of a book from an exhibition
at a not-for-profit for book arts.
This book was stolen.
It was in an exhibition
honoring its publisher.

The question here is,
who is the artist of Kim’s selfish book?
Is it the lady who belabored 509 pages?
Or is it the surgeon who made the first & the latest
cuts into Kim’s skin? Or, was it her domineering
mother/manager, or the magazine editors, a.k.a., Anna Wintour?
Is she the cutter of Kim’s skin? Or, is it Kim’s own thirst for fame?
Who is the true designer of her surgeries? Kim is a cutter of
her own skin, she just hires surgeons to cut her.

And, this pathetic art form was on display
at one of three not-for-profits for book arts
in New York City. To honor her publisher
of this act of cutting oneself.
They were indirectly honoring the
society of media that is killing us all.
This publication as one of honor made me sick.
I immediately picked up this book & walked out of the gallery.

This will not be next to real art. High end media conglomerates,
made this book, cut Kim’s skin—
Anna Wintour blocked Kim’s invite to the MET gala. But was
invited, the next year, pregnant, in a big, flowery dress.
There are shots of that night in this book.

The last time at that not-for-profit, was a lecture about a social
movement exhibition, curated by a woman.
The director of the not-for-profit
only referred to the curator by her first name.
Over & over, again, her first name.

The two male artists—by their full names.

The African American PR woman from the
newly opened museum in DC—
The director stumbled on her name & then,
didn’t repeat it.
Not once.
Not once.
Not once.

— Felice Tebbe, 2017

“Only Felice Tebbe could transform the Kardashians into a grist of fierce and righteous social commentary. Suddenly, the art of self-depiction reveals a whole lot more than the Kardashians ever intended.”
— Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Library of Congress, December 2017.

“Felice Tebbe’s “Not Once: I am Selfish [Kim Kardashian]” is an artist book, a poem, and a protest song commenting on the saturation of feminine identity in the media and pop culture.

Through a process of erasing, brash mark-making, and hurried calligraphy Tebbe defiles and improves a problematic tome of a celebrity icon. This imposition on hyper-stylized yet amateur photography takes the work from being autobiographical to being viewed through a creative and critical reactionary lens.

Just as the publication takes the photographs from its original media (Instagram) to the material world of publishing, the weight and physicality of the images become tangible. The readers’ eye is obstructed by painterly scribbles that scrawl a new narrative where the celebrity is no longer the desired subject. The book itself becomes the object of our gaze questioning perception and reality as portrayed in popular culture.”
— Aimee Lusty, Artist, March 2018