Psychometric properties of the curiosity and exploration inventory (CEI-II) and its relationship with the attitudes of Spanish future teachers toward plastic arts education.

This research, titled Methods of Expression in Modern Kurdish Sculpture, undertakes an intellectual and analytical exploration of expressive works within the domain of modern Kurdish sculpture. Adhering to a rigorous scientific methodology, the study is structured into four interconnected chapters as follows: Chapter One delineates the research problem, significance, objectives, scope, and operational definitions of key terms. The research problem is framed through the question: To what extent have Kurdish sculptors succeeded in manifesting their expressive styles in their artistic creations? The chapter further outlines the principal objective of the study, which is to identify and critically analyze the expressive styles evident in modern Kurdish sculpture. Chapter Two establishes the theoretical framework, organized around three central themes: The conceptual foundations of expression Defining characteristics of expressive style The role of expressiveness in plastic arts The chapter concludes by synthesizing insights from the theoretical framework and presenting a set of indicators to guide the analysis of the research sample. Chapter Three elaborates on the research methodology, encompassing the research population, sample selection, and analytical approach. The sample, consisting of three distinct models, is examined in detail to explore how expressive styles manifest in the sculptural works. Chapter Four presents the research findings and conclusions, summarized as follows: -In general, most of the sculptures exhibit a style that aligns with expressive realism, particularly in samples No. 1–3, each of which conveys symbolic meaning through distinct forms of expression. -The majority of the sculptures (samples No. 1–3) adopt a simplified stylistic approach, facilitating the viewer's ability to easily comprehend and absorb their meanings and thematic content. -Kurdish sculptors have, overall, achieved exceptional levels of aesthetic sophistication, formal expression, and implicit meaning, employing modern techniques that reflect their intellectual engagement and understanding of their expressive value. -Shape emerges as a dynamic and influential element in modern sculptural practices in Iraqi Kurdistan. Due to the stylistic diversity among sculptors, the ways in which forms are utilized differ across artists, particularly in terms of compositional arrangements, as demonstrated in samples (1–2–3). -The stylistic diversity in expression achieved by Kurdish sculptors represents a critical aspect of the contemporary artistic landscape in Iraqi Kurdistan, contributing a multifaceted approach to modern artistic representation.

Instagram poetry generates a legitimate marriage between plastic arts and poetic words, removing the burden of relying solely on the ear when appreciating poems. The current study bridges the gap between written poetic verses and their visual formation. It avoids separating form from content. This appears in Rupi Kaur’s attempt of translating women’s suffering into drawings, placed next to minimal texts. The current study aims to investigate the way the corporality of the Instapoem mirrors the intended message, where the abstract idea becomes tangible. It also explores the way Kaur depicts healing, not as a static process, but as a gradual and transformative one. Methodologically, this study adopts the qualitative method, integrating a close reading with textual and visual analysis. The study concludes that Kaur gives voice to shushed women through the rearticulation of trauma, where the Instapoem becomes not only a site of exhibiting women’s wretchedness but also a choric space for their healing process.

General Background Contemporary Iraqi painting has evolved through continuous dialogue between inherited artistic traditions and modern aesthetic discourses shaped by social and cultural change. Specific Background Iraqi artists employ form, symbolism, and compositional structures to negotiate identity, modernity, and visual expression within a shifting historical context. Knowledge Gap Despite extensive discussions on Iraqi modern art, limited studies have systematically examined aesthetic form as a central interpretative axis connecting visual structure and cultural meaning. Aims This study aims to analyze aesthetic form in contemporary Iraqi painting and interpret its role in articulating modern artistic identity. Results The findings demonstrate that aesthetic form functions not merely as a visual arrangement but as a symbolic system reflecting social realities, cultural memory, and artistic adaptation. Novelty This research offers an integrated interpretative perspective that positions aesthetic form as a key mediator between tradition and modernity in Iraqi painting. Implications The study contributes theoretically to modern art discourse and provides a contextual framework for future analyses of contemporary Arab visual art. Keywords: Contemporary Iraqi Art, Aesthetic Form, Modern Painting, Visual Symbolism, Cultural Identity Key Findings Highlights: Aesthetic form represents cultural adaptation within contemporary Iraqi painting Visual structures embody dialogue between tradition and modern artistic expression Symbolic forms reflect social and historical realities in Iraqi modern art

Building on Hal Foster’s article (2022)—about the absurd qualities of the sculptures of Eva Hesse (1936-1970)—this is the first article-length study which explores the thematic and formal affinities between the artist’s abstract sculptures and the work of playwrights, plastic artists, and performance artists associated with an aesthetic of absurdism. In part one, I place Hesse’s art in line with Conceptual Artists of the 1960s who were interested in absurdity as well as with the playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd of the post-war period. I argue that Hesse’s bodiless, sculpted simulacra of human skin stage the failure (failure being a quality of the absurd) of selfhood and identity: this process I call “de-selfing” counters the male figure and stereotypes about women that abound in the male-artist dominated world of absurd art and theatre. In part two, I pinpoint the conceptual and formal elements that connect Hesse to the post-absurd performance tradition of the happenings, centering on the abundant displays of skin in both art forms. This second part focuses analysis on a comparison of Hesse’s work with Carolee Schneemann’s. While both women’s struggles in a male-dominated countercultural artworld of 1960s New York reflect their aesthetic explorations of gender, I posit that Hesse’s work indulged in, and lays bare, what the happenings disavowed: aging as an aesthetic object. By virtue of the comparison of Hesse with the contemporary counterculture of the happenings, which she was exposed to in 1960s New York, the article enriches recent scholars’ turn to Hesse’s explorations of a genderless body by arguing that a de-racializing gesture may also be discerned in the artist’s investigation of synthetic skins on a “gray scale”, a term deployed by art historian Bryony Fer to describe Hesse’s turn to neutral colors after her period of exploring chromatic vibrancy.

This article examines educational mediation in teaching visual and plastic arts in museums, aiming to foster space appropriation, critical perception, and meaning-making. Integrating teacher training with hands-on museum experience through theoretical reflection, sensory exploration, and reflective writing, it highlights the importance of dialogue between university, museum, and students, oriented toward personal and social growth. It also explores tensions between teaching guides, practice-based approaches, and critical pedagogy, showing how mediation can foster meaningful aesthetic experiences.

The concept of two types of lines in plastic arts is discussed. The word ‘concept’ is analyzed, and a definition of the concept of line in art is proposed. Concepts of two types of line that play an important role in artworks and determine their world-outlook and philosophical contents are revealed. A comparative analysis of the content of the straight line concept is carried out using as an example the cultural space of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and the concept of wavy line through the worldview of the social and cultural systems of Ancient Greece and Ancient China. The cultures considered determined the key part of both lines in the formation of the concepts, which allowed us to draw a conclusion about the essence of the concepts expressing the spiritual-aesthetic paradigm of society. Thus, the concept of straight line as a line of "order" formed in Ancient Egypt, rather than in Mesopotamia. The concept of wavy line derived its content in Ancient Greece, not in Ancient China, and is defined as the concept of a line of "beauty". The results of the study reveal the features of the line concepts. However, at the same time, the general outline of the concept of a line is defined as a philosophical and figurative structure that is a visual translator of the experience of previous eras, filled with cultural, religious, world-outlook and ideological aspects.

Archaeological research carried out over time in reference sites belonging to the Neo-Eneolithic civilization in Oltenia led to the discovery of a significant number of artefacts, mainly ceramics. Among these, those belonging to plastic arts stand out. The object of our article is a reanalysis based on stylistic-typological criteria of some Neolithic plastic pieces discovered in the mentioned space. Our analysis of it allows us to place them, with great probability, in the Salcuta culture.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the figurative-plastic system of sculpture from the Northern Wei period (386–534 AD) and its interpretation in modern Chinese sculpture. It examines the historical and cultural prerequisites for the formation of Northern Wei plastic art, as well as the features of its artistic language. Special attention is paid to the relationship between the volumetric-spatial structure of the sculpture and the surrounding space, the role of line as a semantic and compositional element, and the symbolic content of Buddhist images. The study shows that contemporary Chinese sculpture not only inherits the formal principles of Northern Wei but also reinterprets them in the context of current aesthetic and philosophical searches. Examples from the works of contemporary masters are analyzed, demonstrating continuity and innovation in referencing ancient plastic art. The conclusion is made that the Northern Wei heritage remains a vibrant source of spiritual and artistic inspiration, contributing to the formation of a new identity for 21st-century Chinese art. The research offers a holistic analysis of the figurative-plastic system of Northern Wei sculpture and its influence on modern directions of Chinese plastic art. The scientific novelty lies in identifying the enduring plastic characteristics of the era—elongated proportions, rhythmic linearity, and the idealized spiritual image—and determining the mechanisms of their transformation in the contemporary artistic process. It was established that 21st-century masters not only quote the formal characteristics of ancient canons but also conceptually reinterpret sacred symbolism, integrating it into new materials, technological approaches, and modernist forms. The conducted analysis shows that the heritage of Northern Wei serves as a significant resource for the formation of a nationally-oriented visual language in contemporary Chinese sculpture. The ancient plastic tradition contributes to the strengthening of cultural identity, offering an alternative to Western models and serving as a foundation for innovative solutions that combine tradition with current artistic strategies.

This article examines the role of visual and plastic art as a key instrument for constructing and interpreting cultural space. The study synthesizes a corpus of diverse theoretical works on the interaction between art and landscape, systematizes the principal issues within the field, and proposes avenues for further discussion. It investigates how art not only reflects but also physically, visually, and semantically transforms the landscape. Functioning as a mediator between spiritual, material, and symbolic realities, art creates distinctive forms of spatial experience. Through artistic practices, the aesthetics of a landscape are formed, along with visual and semantic codes, and new centers and loci that alter the perception of the environment. On a theoretical level, the research draws upon the semiotics of space, the philosophy of art, and the concept of landscape as text. The mechanisms through which landscape is endowed with meaning—via architecture, sculpture, painting, and literature—are examined, with a focus on narrative and symbolic modes of artistic interpretation. Particular attention is paid to art as a tool for shaping cultural memory, from memorial complexes to heritage museums, which become spaces of a different temporality and “reservations” of meaning. The cultural landscape is a site of interaction between the sacred and the profane, tradition and innovation, and elite and mass art. Art forms the codes for reading the landscape, translating visual characteristics—color, form, the vertical, the horizontal—into the realm of cultural significance. Thus, art is presented as a form of world reconstruction: an instrument for the spiritual and semantic appropriation of space, one that transforms the landscape into a text perpetually rewritten by culture.

In preschool education, the visual arts are usually relegated to core areas or reduced to crafts, limiting their educational potential. This study aims to determine the relationship between the systematic practice of the plastic arts and comprehensive child development, and evaluate its effectiveness as a teaching strategy through learning situations oriented to key dimensions. 41 4-year-old children (18 girls, 23 boys) from the “Eva Sámano de López Mateos”Kindergarten, Río Grande, Zacatecas, participated, distributed in a control group (n = 20) and an experimental group (n= 21). A mixed design was used with three measurements (pretest, intermediate, posttest). The intervention included two didactic situations “I am a painter and I appreciate art” and “I am a sculptor”, implemented in 14 90-minute sessions. The instruments were: ad hoc rubric for emotional, social and creative dimensions, TEPSI adapted for psychomotor skills, in addition to interviews and a log. The analysis was performed in SPSS v26, with descriptives and Mann–Whitney U for non-normality. In global performance, the control went from 62.27% pretest to 67.60% intermediate and81.48% posttest, while the experimental advanced from 50.96% to 71.65% and 89.20%; the initial gap of −11.31 p.p. The findings indicate that plastic arts teaching situations consistently favor comprehensive development, with emphasis on psychomotor skills, and offer operational guidelines for teaching practice in preschool.

This scientific text focuses on the analysis of Pavlo Virsky’s work and its significance for Ukrainian culture, particularly in the context of teaching the discipline “Ethnographical Studies and Choreographic Folklore of Ukraine”. The author argues that P. Virsky’s work formed a holistic image of Ukrainian identity in the art of the 20th century, combining ethnic tradition and modern stage thinking. Special attention is paid to the interpretation of the laughter culture of Ukrainians in his choreographic productions, such as “Shevchyky” and “Chumaky”, where humor serves not only as entertainment, but also as a profound social and cultural tool. The purpose of the article is to determine the pedagogical potential of using P. Virsky’s heritage, in particular laughter elements, for the formation of a nationally conscious personality of choreographer students. The text describes in detail the methodological approaches to studying this topic, including lectures, practical and laboratory classes that develop the ability to analyze and creatively reproduce folk humor through choreography. Finally, it is emphasized that Virsky’s work is an important educational and methodological material that helps to understand the love of life and optimism as the basis of the Ukrainian national character. It has been proven that the use of Pavlo Virsky’s work as educational and methodological material in the course “Ethnographical Studies and Choreographic Folklore of Ukraine” allows: to specify the concept of laughter culture through artistic images of dance; to demonstrate to students how folk folklore tradition is transformed into performing art; to form in future choreographers the ability to convey national character through the means of plastic arts and humor; to cultivate love for Ukrainian culture, a sense of identity and pride in the spiritual heritage of their people.

This article analyzed assessment concepts and practices in the Visual and Plastic Arts Program at the University of Tolima. The study aimed to understand the ethical and pedagogical tensions that shape assessment in university artistic education and their impact on student creative development. The research was conducted using an interpretive qualitative approach, using grounded theory and a phenomenological method to analyze interviews with five faculty members and five students. The analysis revealed five core categories that highlighted a significant gap between formative discourse and actual assessment practices. Tensions were identified between subjective judgment and formative aspirations, institutionally inadequate tools for capturing creative processes, and unresolved pedagogical dilemmas between technique and creativity. The findings showed profound impacts on student subjectivity, where assessment operates as a device for creative recognition or disavowal. As a main conclusion, the study proposed a sensitive assessment model with three interrelated dimensions: dialogic, processual, and contextualized assessment. This model emerged as an alternative to transform assessment from a control instrument into a practice of formative support. Research demonstrated that overcoming the identified tensions requires a cultural and institutional transformation toward an ethically grounded assessment based on the specific nature of artistic endeavor, capable of fostering creative autonomy and identity development in students

Research was conducted on social inclusion in the cognitive development of boys and girls at the 24 de Julio Chone Educational Unit. The objective was to determine the impact of social inclusion on the cognitive development of children at this institution. A mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative) was adopted, including analytical and systemic methods and descriptive methods. The techniques used included an observation sheet for classroom students and an interview with the grade-school teacher. The sample consisted of teachers, administrators, and students, while the sample consisted of 25 students from the school and the grade-school teacher. By observing the unique characteristics of each child and, above all, by paying attention to their abilities, these served as the main support point for developing inclusion strategies. The result was that, with the use of strategies related to Neuropedagogy, through the creation of a drawing by the children, there was a positive impact since they were able to identify and graphically describe the characters in the reading, showing that through these types of strategies related to the plastic arts, the children were able to improve their reading comprehension.

This study aims to examine how the perception of movement is constructed on static surfaces within the context of plastic arts, through an analysis of Rembrandt’s 1642 masterpiece The Night Watch. In visual arts, the sense of movement can be created not only through physical motion but also through the structural organization of the composition, the positioning and orientation of figures, and the integrated use of fundamental visual elements. In this regard, the study adopts a visual analysis-based approach, focusing on rhythm, directional flow, contrast, and the guidance of the viewer’s gaze. It reveals that the dynamic and rhythmic arrangement of visual components such as form, line, direction, light, and color produces a sense of continuity, motion, and temporal progression. The work is interpreted within the aesthetic framework of the Baroque period, emphasizing Rembrandt’s effective use of chiaroscuro, spatial depth, and sequential figure arrangement to construct a strong perception of movement. Furthermore, it concludes that the viewer’s perceptual engagement plays a decisive role in experiencing movement within a visual context. Ultimately, the study provides an interdisciplinary perspective on how movement can be effectively expressed in a static pictorial medium, contributing to the theoretical discourse on visual perception in art.

An attempt is made to analyse the appearance of the «dancing little men» from the famous Martynivka treasure of the 7th century and, especially, the decor on their clothing, in the context of genesis of embroidery on Ukrainian clothing. Examination of these silver figurines, as well as the statuette of the so-called «candle keeper» (candlestick) from the Poltava region, along with the comparative material, confirms the depiction of everyday details on them. And this means a high probability of decorating the clothes of these, supposedly Slavic (with a centre in the Over Dnipro Lands) pieces of small plastic art with embroidered decor. The probability of this fact increases when considering them in the context of small plastic art and other images («The Barberini Ivory», Byzantine mosaics, miniatures, etc.), originating from the entire European region and adjacent territories of Asia. The mentioned images are connected with a special complex of ideas and traditions of «beast fights» (including gladiatorial fights) of the peoples of this area and therefore are widespread in various versions. And the hypothesis of O. Shchehlova about the reflection of the biblical motif «Daniel with the Lions» in the studied Martynivka-type figurines is consistent with the complex of traditions and ideas of «beast fights». At the same time, we think that the appearance, including the clothes of the «Martynivka dancers», conveys both borrowed and also aboriginal features, including embroidery. Taking into account the existence of a tradition of clothes embroidery on the territory of Ukraine among the Sarmatians of the 1st century AD and the Huns of the mid-5th century, we can hypothetically consider the decor on the clothes of the Martynivka figurines of the 7th century and the «candle keeper» of the 7th–8th centuries as a continuation of this chain, which thus leads to embroidery on the clothes of the Kyivan Rus (Black Tomb in Chernihiv and the Shestovytsia burial ground of the 10th century).

In low-grade glioma (LGG), although awake surgery (AS) with intraoperative functional mapping helps to minimize neurological and cognitive deficits, its impact on artistic abilities has received less attention. This study is the first to assess the capacity of professional or semiprofessional artists to resume various art activities following AS for LGG. Artists who underwent AS for an IDH-mutated WHO grade 2 glioma with connectome-based resection using cortico-subcortical electrostimulation were consecutively selected. Real-time, tailored multitasking was performed throughout the resection, but no additional tasks related to artistic abilities were introduced. Nineteen patients were included, consisting of 15 professional artists (5 architects, 2 comedians, 2 musicians, 2 dancers, 1 sculptor, 1 plastic artist, 1 writer, and 1 art professor) and 4 semiprofessional artists-2 musicians (1 professor of chemistry, 1 informatician), 1 poet (theater administrator), and 1 painter (social worker). This consecutive cohort included 10 men (52.6%) and 9 women (47.4%) who underwent AS for LGG. Of the 19 patients, 16 were right-handed, the mean age was 36.8 ± 9.7 years, and the mean Karnofsky Performance Scale score was 94.7 ± 6.9. There were 11 left-sided and 8 right-sided tumors distributed across the 5 lobes (mean preoperative volume 52.8 ± 39.4 cm3). All patients were fully active before surgery, except for 1 architect with intractable epilepsy. Postoperatively, no permanent deficits were observed, except 1 case of voluntary induced hemianopia (5.3%). The mean Karnofsky Performance Scale score was 95.7 ± 5 at 3 months after surgery. All patients returned to their artistic practice at the semiprofessional or professional level, and none reported a subjective loss of creativity. The mean extent of resection was 91.2% ± 8.6% (mean residual tumoral volume 5 ± 5.8 cm3). There were 12 astrocytomas and 7 oligodendrogliomas. Only 1 patient received immediate adjuvant therapy. Five patients (26.3%) underwent subsequent AS. The mean follow-up duration was 7.6 ± 3.1 years since the initial AS. All patients except 3 (84.2%) were still alive at the last follow-up (1 died from an unrelated cause). There were no significant differences between professional and semiprofessional artists, except for a higher rate of reoperation in the latter subgroup (p = 0.037). These original data show that AS with intraoperative continuous multitasking enabled semiprofessional and professional artists with LGG to resume their artistic work following surgery. This suggests that, although artistic creativity should be more systematically considered in surgical neuro-oncology, even for nonprofessional artists, there is nonetheless no need to introduce specific tests during surgery.

Viktor Fernandez He was born on July 18, 1985 in La Unión, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. He began painting, attending the workshop of master Jairo Rosas, at the age of 14; place where he ventured and obtained his first art samples, at the age of 17. After there, in 2022 he began his professional studies in plastic arts at the Departmental Institute of Fine Arts in the city of Cali, Colombia, where he currently continues his studies. His works are classified into three main themes; which are: bullfighting, landscape and kinetic. Throughout his career he has participated in several national and international exhibitions such as: La Cometa Gallery Auction, Bogotá, Colombia, 2006; La Unión Valle Mayor's Office, La Unión, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, 2017; Inside the color, Cali, Colombia, 2019; Bullfighting Expo, Manizales, Colombia, 2018; Colombia Tierra Querida, Miami, USA, 2022; Arte Anima Latina, Perugia, Italy, 2024; among others.

Academics from higher education institutions that offer programs in creative fields such as Visual Arts, Plastic Arts, Audiovisual Media, Animation and Visual Effects, Architecture, Cinematography, Communication, and other related areas face the enormous responsibility of developing themselves and preparing to tackle the challenges of this technological transformation. It is imperative to critically analyze how artificial intelligence and new technologies can enrich and transform the field of art. At the same time, it is essential to examine the risks and difficulties associated with the use of new technologies. This presentation directs the reflection toward the revaluation of human creativity and artistic expression through the study of algorithms that imitate human creativity employed in artificial intelligence. To this end, a systematic literature review is conducted to identify the differences that exist between human creativity and the training of AI algorithms. We believe that academia should serve as a space for reflection on the impact of artificial intelligence on creative work. Likewise, the new generations of professionals must possess elements that enable them to recognize, appreciate, and defend the intrinsic value of their creative work, which is irreplaceable. An analysis of the ethical consequences of using generative artificial intelligence in the creative field will trigger relevant discussions about the rights of artists and the value of original artwork, guiding actions toward regulatory frameworks that protect original creations.

This research investigates the development of Viennese architect Hans Hollein’s spatial conception of architecture and the city through his formative experiences in Austria and the United States, demonstrating how the bureaucratic functionalist architecture of Austria and its Americanisation during the postwar period informed Hollein’s transatlantic experimentation with anti-functionalism. In this development, Hollein’s critical inspirations in the US were Gestalt psychology and modern plastic art that he learned through ex-Bauhauser Walter Peterhans’s Visual Training course at Illinois Institute of Technology, along with pueblo architecture and the 1959 anti-International Style discourse on plastic forms in architecture, as well as Austrian-American architect Rudolf Schindler’s ‘space architecture’ forgotten by all yet discovered by Hollein. These experiences were crystallised in Hollein’s 1960 master’s thesis entitled ‘Plastic Space’, written at UC Berkeley. In this, Hollein postulated plastic space as an entity that radiates from man-made sculptural forms, what he called ‘space radiators’, and the city as an organic network of such spaces. This research highlights the significance of Hollein’s spatial conception as not only a design theory used throughout his career but also a rare circulatory path of transatlantic exchange that re-introduced the forgotten avant-garde culture from America into post-Nazi Austria, reinventing its modern legacy.