Concept and object. The artist box as an interdisciplinary resource in primary education

Abstract

This article presents «The Box» as an artistic
object conceptualized as a didactic
material. Based on the Boîte-en-Valise by
Marcel Duchamp and the foundations of
conceptual art, the box as an artistic object
is conceived, within the teaching-learning
processes, as an active tool that can
become a container of concepts. In this
way, the «Artist Box» project aims to process
curricular aspects from an open, creative
perspective that promotes the achievement
of basic skills. After studying the
emergence and development of the box as
an artistic element throughout the twentieth
century, the results of a study carried
out with students of the Master’s Degree in
Primary Education at a Valencian University
will be reported. Drawing on the projects
carried out in the area of Artistic Education,
the creation process occurred is
described together with an the evaluation
which students provided by completing
questionnaires along the implementation

of the experience. The present study also
reports on some issues emerging from the
implementation of the same experiment
by Primary Education Degree students
with Primary School students at a Valencian
school. Finally, a questionnaire sent
to the teachers of that school are analyzed
in order to extract a series of considerations
on this artistic proposal as a possible
didactic material.