Self-help, poo and existential questions: Kevin McNamee-Tweed's Books

Date
20 November 2014

Kevin McNamee-Tweed by name, twee by nature, I’d assumed, casting an eye over these sweetly, naively sketched wee pictures of books. Then I read the titles. One contained the word “shart.” Another proclaims, “It’s Only Your Fault: How to Help Yourself”, while a more philosophical tome proffers the question “who is….BIRD HUMAN?”

In short, they’re wonderful titles, which wouldn’t surprise us if they did actually exist in some hidden corner of a trust library shelf in a doctor’s surgery or anarchist-leaning cakeshop. However, the book covers are all as entirely fictional as the contents they promise, lovingly drawn by Texas-based artist Kevin McNamee-Tweed. Each of the images is created with watercolour, gouache, and ink on paper to the size of an actual book.

In a piece about a show of the works in Texas, the St Claire Review editor Stephanie Bursese surmised that the show looked to answer the questions: “Am I really going to read all of these? How are these peering into the depths of my soul and saying exactly what’s in my heart of hearts? Why am I weeping? Does anyone have a tissue? Do you think anyone saw me weeping? Do you think I’ll be able to communicate better with Gary if I read "You Want Me To What? Being Open With Your Super Square Sexual Partner”?”

We’re not sure, but perhaps a skim through New Sadness: Comparing the black-out, confusion-oriented, fiery sadness of your youth to the expanding, even-keeled sadness of your passage into adulthood might bring us a little closer to the answer.

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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Kevin McNamee-Tweed: Books

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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