It is clear after examination of the paintings done by Diego Rivera and Charles Sheeler that there is a distinct difference in their visions of American Industry. Rivera and his background being one that is very communist and felt that the people are what make the factories run and in so he made the depiction of the Rouge Ford Factory full of people working together, of all colors. One could see this as America a coming together of all peoples. A melting pot, what Rivera saw when he came to America. A great nation with people of all colors coming together, for one cause, to build this great machine which so much of American could own, an innovation in technology for the time.
Then there is the reverse of that, the stark difference seen in Charles Sheeler’s work. One of simplicity and distinct lines, a clear absence of people and even nature, Sheeler's work is not so dynamic in his colors and use of motion but rather the absence leaving only a perfectly self sufficient machine. For the time as a resident on American and the fact that industry was trying to come back, there is a destruction of nature and in its place large factories are being built. For the Rouge Ford Factory was a first, it held so many components, for its time, there was so much less manual labor force needed with in the walls of the factory.
Both Rivera and Sheeler depict what they saw in this factory. What lends to the striking difference is the fact that they are both from different backgrounds, one be a visitor and the other a permanent resident of America. The paintings also differ in size, viewer ability and a background in style, a muralist and a photographer who dabbled in painting.
What matters in the end is that both parties painted what they saw and the viewer simply has to take a minute step back and understand that both visions are right, but different.