Aurelia Masanet

AURELIA MASANET

Line’s Explorations

Proposal summary

The different shades of black and the pleating present in Aurelia Masanet's piece of art Mantra I i II (Consorci de Museus, 2021, p. 239) are the artistic elements that serve as a starting point to develop a collective creation where acetate covered in black ink is the canvas where students project their designs. While the Valencian artist makes repeated use of small fragments of tissue paper to achieve a play of lights and shadows, the children delve into the art of engraving and stamping to create a series consisting of individual works that, when placed consecutively, form a ritual or mantra.

Materials and preparation

A5 (two per table) and A6 acetate (one per pair) sheets
A8 white rubber. This material replaces A6 acetate sheets in lower grades to facilitate handling.
A5 engraving paper
White roll paper to cover the tables
Screw press. The project can be carried out without a press, only with rollers
Black ink
Spatula for spreading ink
Ink rollers
Brushes, spatulas, toothbrushes, and other materials for making marks on inked acetate

ETwo different spaces or stations are prepared:

Inking station (dirty hands), consisting of two tables covered with white roll paper. Here, children ink with the roller and draw marks on the ink.

Two pieces of A5 acetate are prepared at each station, sticked with cellophane to the roll paper covering the table. Ink is spread on this acetate with a spatula. These pieces will serve as ink reservoirs.

The tables are arranged so that students can gather around them and are covered with roll paper.

The different pieces of acetate or white rubber are cut and distributed on the tables, one for each child, and an additional one is reserved for the teacher to model the task.

The tools to be used during the experimentation are placed on each table: ink, rollers, brushes, spatula, toothbrushes...

Engraving station (clean hands), also consisting of two tables covered with white roll paper. Here, children engrave with clean rollers.

Cut rectangular pieces of engraving paper on which the stamping will be done, one for each child.

On one of the walls of the classroom, prepare the area for drying the papers on which the ink has been transferred. Strings are attached from one end to the other, and the different creations are hung with clothespins.

Proposal development

This is a generic description of the proposal, which can be adapted to different levels, according to the grade and characteristics of the class. The described phases are divided into several sessions (usually between two and three). In the following section (What do we work on with this piece?), you have a detailed list of the proposal’s connections with the basic competences of Arts Education (AE), English, and CLIL methodology.

1. Presentation of Aurelia Masanet and her work

At this initial moment, the work and the author are contextualised, linking them with students’ previous knowledge and experience. Furthermore, comprehension is the main language skill involved, though the teacher always seeks interaction with the students.
The teachers involved in the project prepared materials that can be used for this purpose.

2.Observation and analysis of Aurelia Masanet's piece Mantra I i II.

Students are encouraged to detect, understand, and, if possible, extract the aesthetic qualities of the piece, which will serve as a guide for experimentation (see Aesthetic Qualities of Mantra I i II). It is a rich context for linguistic learning, as it is linked to reflective analysis of visual language.

3. Artistic experimentation (in pairs)

Materials presentation and steps to follow. At this point, oral comprehension is practised in interaction with the teacher.

Un membre de cada parella passa un rodet per sobre del reservori de tinta (acetat entintat) que s’ha preparat prèviament per transferir un poc de tinta a l’acetat en A6 o la goma, que actuen com a matriu d’estampació, sobre la qual crearà el seu patró de línies.

Una vegada tenen entintada la matriu, utilitzen diferents eines (raspalls de dents vells, pinzells vells, una rasqueta) per tal de crear una composició de línies rectes verticals. Es fomenta l’experimentació per jugar amb les possibilitats creatives dins de diferents paràmetres: longitud de les línies, gruix, separació, composició sobre la matriu…, i com cada estri produeix rastres diferents.

A partir d’ací, i després de rentar-se les mans, es trasllada el treball a l’estació neta, on l’altre membre de la parella pren el rol principal. Si es treballa amb acetat, la matriu es deixa sobre una superfície plana per tal de fer l’estampació i a sobre es col·loca una peça de paper per a gravat. S’utilitzen rodets per pressionar sobre el paper per tal de fer l’estampació. Si es disposa de tòrculs, es poden utilitzar com a alternativa als rodets.

4. Final reflection

All printed papers are exhibited in a visible spot in the classroom or school. A collaborative piece is thus created through accumulation. The piece of art Mantra I i II is also displayed, generating a visual dialogue between the two proposals. The teacher reflects with the students to reach an evaluative reflection, which gathers the criteria again and links them with Aurelia Masanet's piece.

What do we work on with this piece?

QUALITATS ESTÈTIQUES DE MANTRA I i II

The work of each proposal is competency-based, but materialises through specific aspects inspired by the original piece. Specifically, Aurelia Masanet’s Mantra I i II leads us to focus on: colour, specifically shades of black; straight vertical lines, and textures. Click the button to download a more detailed description of how to link the proposal with specific AE competencies.

COMMUNICATION

The proposal aims to make a contextualised use of language, fostering the development of language skills. This is carried out through a communicative approach highlighting action-oriented learning in which the exchange of artistic and linguistic codes is encouraged.

Within this competency-based work, each step of the proposal constitutes one or several communication situations that act as a meaningful context for the use of more specific knowledge, which each teacher can select according to their objectives. Among others, the characteristics of the original piece and the derived proposal can be conducive to work on vocabulary related to colour gradation and types of lines, the expression of spatial relationships, or the use of indications and instructions among students.

Click the button to download a more detailed description of how to link the proposal with specific foreign language competencies.

THE CLIL IN ART EDUCATION

The CLIL approach was conceived to be applicable in any area of knowledge, but each area has well-defined characteristics. One of the objectives of this project has been to identify the specificities of AE that, on the one hand, can strengthen the CLIL approach and, on the other hand, can benefit from applying this approach. The work among teachers, researchers, and students has allowed us to design a CLIL proposal specific to AE. Click the button to download it..