Acervo fotográfico como fonte documental: análises dos bens ferroviários em Araguari/MG

Abstract

Some structures remaining from the railways in the city of Araguari located in the Triângulo Mineiro, considered to be one of the largest railway junctions, were vastly represented in photographs. Some no longer exist in their formal completeness, other structures are occupied with new uses outside the railway context, in addition to those that remain unusable due to time and neglect. This research takes photography not only as the materialization of memory and imagination, but also as a document, historical source and starting point to reflect on the donation and recognition of the value of railway goods inherited by transport in the city. The objective of the research is to recognize and reveal the limits and possibilities of using the Photographic Collection of the Municipal Public Archive and Museum “Dr. Calil Porto” as testimonial document and material support of local memory, to identify and interpret the remaining elements of the railway heritage in Araguari. It is known that structural losses and the current state of conservation of railway assets are the result of constant changes experienced by society, including the encouragement of the automobile industry, urban restructuring processes, industrialization and deindustrialization, deactivation of Rede Ferroviária Federal SA and consequent late awakening of interest in the preservation of railway heritage. The central question of the dissertation is to understand, therefore, to what extent do the photographs in the collection convey the recognition of value and elucidate all these processes? As a theoretical and methodological basis, concepts and theories about the railway industrial heritage will be raised, photography as a document, photography and memory, recognition of the Araguari railway complex and a survey of the photographic collection of the aforementioned Public Archive, considered a historical and cultural center of the municipality.