Prosumatory Artistic practices for the creation of a Critical Gaze in Hypervisual Times

Abstract

At present, we have university students with an age range typical of the so-called "generation Z", also
known as "digital natives", a profile of young people with a lifestyle immersed in social networks and a
frenetic virtual world. In spite of this, it can be observed that although university students tend to
communicate through photographs, memes, emojis, selfies, etc., they have little experience in the
critical analysis of visual culture and the images of their environment. Based on this reflection, the
Didactics of Artistic Education and Visual Culture course at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Primary School
Grade? (UPV/EHU) proposes a specific methodological framework that aims to help students develop
skills with which to work on children's view of the different realities of the 21st century.That is to say,
the main objective is that the students of this Grade, as future teachers of children from 6 to 12 years
old, develop tools with which to analyze visual culture from a critical, constructive and coherent
perspective with the social reality in which they live. From this perspective, a work dynamic is
proposed based on contemporary artistic practice where university students are able to interpret and
create images as prosumers (consumers and producers) of visual culture. To this end, spaces are
generated that allow these students to know and reinterpret images based on their own reflections,
interests and aesthetic experiences. As part of the result of this methodology of Artistic Education
centred on Contemporary Art, a compilation of images is shown in which some of the results and
graphic discourses of the students. Among these ideas, some predominate, such as the construction
of the image from the critical and visual look of the young people's environment. The relevance of
corporeality and aesthetics is also observed, using the body as a way of analysis and a base on which
to intervene graphically, making the body part of the visual expression of the group. The results
obtained show the importance of generating spaces for reflection and debate on art as a way of
encouraging critical thinking, trying to move university students from being passive spectators of
visual culture to becoming active agents and creators of their own images and graphic discourses.
This experience allows them to become aware of their own relationship to the image of themselves
and others. As a final conclusion, we can see that the students understand and interiorize the artistic
educational practices from a personal experience, achieving in this way that in the future they can
transmit this knowledge to the children from a critical and reflexive look, as conscious prosumers of
the image.