"The [city themes] have the flat facades of modern buildings, and no perspective, although space is constructed by overlapping and diminution of scale... The cityscapes, railways, etc. suggest a kind of industrial primitivism." (Ades 134)
The thing that caught my attention most when i first studied this painting was the way Amaral was able to portray a complex scene with simple shapes. Just as the quote states, there seems to be an oxymoron: “industrial primitivism.” Amaral showed the complex world of industry to look like a primitive society.
This made me wonder, is our world that much different from earlier societies? Even with all our gadgets that men have created in order to satisfy wants, humanity still has the same base desires as any other time period. Societies are still looking for the best way of living- for the most profitable lifestyle, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually.
Take government for example. Philosophers from as early as Greek or Roman time periods (Aristotle specifically) searched for the most just form of government. As much as we have excelled in technology, it seems as if the ideal government has still eluded us, although we have reached a couple steps closer.
Technology did not further understanding. The more we know about the universe and the physical properties, the more the complexity of it all seems to baffle us. The more humanity knows, the more it is aware that it does not know. While our landscapes have become full of tall buildings, airplanes, etc. the inside emotions and thoughts, as well as our problems, seem to have stayed roughly the same.
What makes society different than the societies of the past? Or what makes us more complex? Did the Central Railway of Brazil capture the truth of the industrial world?
