Homework #13 Feed B, As Artwork

Even though Feed is a book, and not a piece of artwork in terms of being a painting, or sculpture; we can still think of this book by M.T. Anderson as art. Being a painter, and a poet, I do a lot of artwork myself. Poetry is in the from of text, and does not have to come with an actual visual, because it is a piece of art. Poets create a picture, and give the reader visual images through their words. If you think about it, this also makes book writers artists as well. To speak of Feed by M.t. Anderson specifically, it is an example of Revelatory Art.

M.T. Anderson expressed his thoughts and feelings through his book. At first he was just going to write a short story, yet he felt like he had to write a book to get his point across in a more detailed way. He revealed to us how he felt that society is like in the world around us today. While reading Feed, I had thought of it as a book taking place in the future. Especially with traveling to the moon, having computers actually installed in your brain, upcars.. Yet in class I realized that these were just some of the parallels between Feed and how he felt we are like today.

There is the quote "Art is not a Mirror with which to reflect the World. It is a Hammer with which to shape it." by Bert Brecht. This is saying that art does not show what is in the world, it is something to mold the world. While applying this quote to Feed I feel like it is a mirror. The book made me think about the world around me, and reflect upon it. I feel like M.T. Anderson would not want us to be beaten into how he believes, but to look at his beliefs and leave us to think it out on our own. He clearly states problems throughout the book, yet he never tells us what we are supposed to do about it. He leaves that up to his readers.

I feel like Feed is the kind of book that is for all audiences. It seems to me like a kid book, with the font and way of writing. Yet the ideas are very out there. It describes to teenagers how M.T. Anderson believes that we are, and it shows how he believes the parents to be: as equally oblivious. Titus' dad was even less intelligent than Titus was. The only really smart people were Violet, and her father. Titus did have a little more knowledge than his friends, yet he did not want to use it. Overall, I feel like Feed is for anyone that wants to read it.