Triangular Approach and the Culture of Guarani Kaiowá Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

This article aims to present the development of an Art class project carried out within the course Projeto Interdisciplinar I, focused on the Guarani Kaiowá people, to explain the concept of Ana Mae Barbosa’s Triangular Approach as the epistemological foundation of the proposal, and to critically analyze the didactic process employed. The class was designed to integrate art, teaching practice, and Indigenous knowledge under the guidance of Professor Dr. Raquel Mello Salimeno de Sá, with the purpose of promoting an aesthetic and reflective experience on Indigenous themes. During the activity, historical and cultural aspects of the Guarani Kaiowá people were addressed, followed by the observation of photographic records from the project Visualidades Étnicas: as culturas indígenas nas escolas (Salimeno, 2013). At the end, students were invited to produce an artistic drawing representing what most impacted them during the class. Throughout the Visual Arts program, this practice came to be understood as grounded in the Triangular Approach and its core components: contextualization, interpretation (reading), and artistic practice. Furthermore, the article seeks to offer a critical reflection on the process, considering the author’s development throughout the course and the understanding of art not merely as a tool, but as a language and a form of knowledge.