The masks in Visual Arts: Producing self-knowledge in pedagogical practices

Abstract

The article presents an outline of a study resulting from an action research conductedwith a group of 7th graders of an Elementary School located at south of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Based on theoretical areas of Anthropology, Psychology and Art History, the study underscores the importance of masks in cultural and artistic manifestations and their ancestral and contemporary character, which favor its use as propulsion forms of artistic learning. Through teaching practice including research, the study analyzed the elements of student identifi cation with its artistic production, and what these elements revealed and concealed based on the creation of masks and texts produced. The study results indicate that, transcending boundaries of space/time and entering into meaningful processes of subjectivities, the educational use of masks made it possible for learners to emerge from spaces for production and artistic experiences that by enhancing their means of expression, they could produce knowledge about themselves and their classmates.

Key words: Visual Arts, mask, pedagogical practice, self-knowledge.