A/r/tographic view of visual arts preservice teacher's on the woman image

This study aims to examine the perspectives of visual arts preservice teachers on the female image, their efforts to make sense of it, and their modes of expression within the context of body sociology, gender, and culture. Art-based research method called a/r/tography was used for research method. The researcher worked with a group consisting of 18 students, 10 females, and 8 males, in the elective Workshop V course. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lessons were conducted in a remote learning environment. The applied process of the research consists of data collected from 18 students who are in their final year in the Department of Fine Arts Education, Faculty of Education, Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University, during the Fall and Spring Semesters of 2020-2021. The data of the research was collected using various data collection tools including course records, interviews, reflective journals, self-evaluation forms, and practical activities. The data, analyzed through a descriptive analysis approach, were interpreted in the context of the sub-questions of the research. Three themes, namely "Gaze", "Meaning" and "Form" consisting of masculine and feminine discourses, were derived from the obtained data. Through this research, students questioned their perceptions of the female image, their identities, and personalities within the framework of their life experiences, memories, and stories in social life dynamics, culture, and social environments. They gained awareness by questioning the role of women in gender roles and explored them through written, oral, and visual expressions in practical processes.