primitivism
Favoring simpler societies
Primitivism is the belief that simpler, earlier forms of human society were superior to modern civilization—that progress has corrupted rather than improved us.
In art, primitivism refers to deliberate imitation of non-Western or prehistoric styles, as when Picasso drew on African masks or Gauguin painted Tahitian scenes.
The term can carry condescension, implying that certain cultures are frozen in an earlier stage of development: The museum's primitivism exhibit has drawn criticism for its romanticized view of indigenous peoples.
Unpolished, raw state
- rudimentaryIn simplest possible form
- unrefinedNot processed or polished
- rawIn original state
- basicFundamental in nature
undeveloped · rough-hewn · elemental · unpolished · stripped-down · bare · spartan · unsophisticated
Opposition to contemporary developments
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- unspoiledNot damaged or degraded
- edenicResembling perfect innocence
- anti-progressOpposition to advancement
Before documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- ancientVery old indeed
- archaeologicalOf studying ancient remains
megaliths · fossils · artifacts · tools · fire-making · ancestral
Having youthful innocence
- innocentFree from moral wrong
- guilelessFree from deceit
- unspoiledNot damaged or degraded
- ingenuousInnocently frank and trusting
untutored · instinctive · spontaneous · unschooled · untrained · direct · sincere · unpretentious
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- shamanIndigenous spiritual healer
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
ancestors · elders · totemism · animism · indigenous · nomadic · subsistence · communal
Unsweetened sparkling wine designation
- ethnographicDescribing cultures systematically
- totemsSpiritual clan symbols
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- woodcarvingSculpting in timber
Innovative cultural pioneers
- expressionismDistorting reality for emotion
- cubismGeometric, fragmented visual style
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- dadaInfant's word for father
crude
Unpolished, raw state
- rudimentaryIn simplest possible form
- unrefinedNot processed or polished
- rawIn original state
basic · undeveloped · rough-hewn · elemental · unpolished · stripped-down · bare · spartan · unsophisticated · plain
anti-modernism
Opposition to contemporary developments
- authenticityQuality of being genuine
- unspoiledNot damaged or degraded
- edenicResembling perfect innocence
prehistoric
Before documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- ancientVery old indeed
archaeological · megaliths · fossils · artifacts · tools · fire-making · ancestral
childlike
Having youthful innocence
ingenuous · untutored · instinctive · spontaneous · unschooled · untrained · direct · sincere · unpretentious · unaffected
hunter-gatherer
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
ritual · ancestors · elders · totemism · animism · indigenous · nomadic · subsistence · communal · chieftain
brut
Unsweetened sparkling wine designation
- ethnographicDescribing cultures systematically
- totemsSpiritual clan symbols
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- expressionismDistorting reality for emotion
- cubismGeometric, fragmented visual style
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- art stylesimpressionism, surrealism, cubism, realism, pop art
- lifestylessimple living, city life, family life, minimalism, rural life
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, cultural anthropology
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
- Modern Artcubism, Cubism, Fauvism, dadaism, Dadaism
- philosophiesempiricism, stoicism, nihilism, idealism, materialism
primitivismfuturism
Study of tomorrow's possibilities
modernism · progressivism · techno-utopianism · transhumanism · accelerationism
primitivismacademicism
Adherence to traditional standards
classicism · sophistication · mannerism · refinement · formalism
primitivismcivilization
Advanced organized human society
modernity · urbanism · cosmopolitanism · industrialization · industrialism