1 Introduction

The term creativity, at first glance, seems to be a term that anyone can understand. However, when we read the national documents that define Brazilian education, we realize that, taken in common sense, it is not commented on robustly enough for teachers to understand how they can help students develop their own creativity. Even if it were, defining creativity would not be enough to think about how it could permeate Mathematics classes, since different people express and develop their creativity in different ways.

Creativity gives rise to behaviors that can be enhanced in the school environment, particularly in Mathematics classes; however, it is necessary to build a space that is favorable to it. In this environment, the teacher, also recognizing himself and acting as a creative being, invites his students to express themselves creatively.

Therefore, the main objective of this study is to discuss the exercise of creativity in Mathematics classes through art, not in relation to a closed concept, but giving vent to creativity as a creative power and as a way of being in the world. To achieve this goal, this text presents possibilities for creativity to enter Mathematics classes based on a dialogue between Mathematics and the paintings of Russian painter Georgy Kurasov, which we do by suggesting a sequence of activities. Thus, we announce, as specific objectives of this study, to encourage some discussions about the potential of art in the educational space and to reflect on the possibilities of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool for carrying out activities in Mathematics classes.

We chose art as the central theme of this text because we recognize in it its potential for insurrection; in other words, to combat the neoliberal practices and ideologies that are undermining not only the school, but also the joy of being in the world. Furthermore, we understand that art can foster the joint germination of the empirical-logical-rational dimensions, typical of exact disciplines, and the mythical-symbolic-magical dimensions, characteristic of humanities disciplines (^{Almeida, 2006}).

We present this text as a theoretical essay, since it has “characteristics of a scientific text, such as a dissertative nature, with theoretical discussion, with the purpose of defending, rationally and logically, a point of view or an idea, without any proposal for further study or pretense of exhausting the subject” (^{Soares, Picolli and Casagrande, 2018}, p. 331). Also as an essay, the article takes the form of a

critical text, which takes a position. It does not intend to deconstruct what exists, nor to say that one form is better than another in the prevailing scientific production, it only aims to make other possibilities, new paths clear. To discover new possibilities, it is necessary to go beyond what is seen. A leap into the doubtful, into the unknown and into the unusual and accepted by the system

(^{Boava, Macedo and Sette, 2020}, p. 70).

Since the core of a theoretical essay is “the permanent reaction between subject and object, a becoming constituted by the interaction of subjectivity with the objectivity of those involved” (^{Meneghetti, 2011}, p. 321), we need, as authors, to point out that the writing of this text is intimately connected to our affection for art — art is part of our lives, our tastes, what we consume and read, hence the natural consequence of it always being on the lookout for a new opportunity to enter our classes.

In this sense, we deny the need to establish a starting point, a zero mark, which would be the embryo of the activity proposed in this article. Although it was not applied to a specific class of students, it echoes previous essays, studies and research already carried out, such as the production of a tea set inspired by the Mayan calendar (^{Peraça and Montoito, 2015}), a study that values ​​the aesthetic and beautiful character of Mathematics based on activities with works by Volpi and Da Vinci (^{Cardoso, Paulo and Dalcin, 2014}) and the development of activities involving the production of photographs (^{Carvalho and Dalcin, 2023}) and analysis of photographic images (^{Brito and Dalcin, 2022}), among others.

This essay is organized as follows: the first sections present theoretical discussions on creativity and art as a creative drive. They are followed by the suggestion of an activity designed to explore, develop and promote students' creativity and, if we point out the use of AI for its execution, it is because, from the outset, we recognize that the teacher cannot remain oblivious to new technologies, needing to be creative and also adapt to the new, in addition to learning to extract the best from them — pedagogically speaking.

2 In search of creativity

You have to create confusion systematically, this frees creativity. Everything that is contradictory creates life

(Salvador Dalí).

The epigraph of this section is attributed to Salvador Dalí (^{Nasiotis, 2019}), a surrealist painter of Catalan origin, whose paintings have the power to surprise those who see them to this day, given their “artistic expression so free from the control of reason that it escaped the notions of beauty and truth” (^{Del Puppo, 2011}, p. 36). His painting The Crucifixion, from 1954, which can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, provokes mathematical gazes due to the representation of Christ tied to a cross that has the shape of an open hypercube. Dalí’s reinterpretation of a biblical scene so well known and widely painted by other renowned painters undoubtedly causes strangeness and confusion, and is an example of the painter’s creativity in representing it. Based on this artistic and conceptual preamble, we set out, in this section, in search of creativity.

More than a subtitle, this expression characterizes our effort to try to understand what creativity is beyond common sense. In a primary research move, we turned to the dictionary, where we read: “creativity: s.f. creative force; inventiveness; originality” (^{Borba, 2011}, p. 359). However, in recent years, the term has gained new layers of connotations, having been captured by neoliberal discourses and associated with entrepreneurship (^{De Tommasi, 2014}; ^{Pereira et al., 2006}; ^{Carmo et al., 2021}; ^{Silva, 2024}). From this perspective of the postmodern world, creativity seems to be subjugated to the production of something that is recognized by someone, that has a practical use and — if possible, even better — that generates financial profits.

As authors, in this article we wish to escape this utilitarianism and understand creativity in a broader sense, emphasizing its creative power as a way of being in the world, in general, and of being in the Math class, in particular. Therefore, although the ideas surrounding the word have changed over the centuries, we turn our attention to the Greeks, who were the first to coin it.

^{Barbosa (2023, p. 4)} recalls that, given the lack of a word to refer to creative activity, Plato opted for the “verb poiéō, which means to create, to make, to produce, to bring into existence, [which] gives rise to the noun poíēsis, creation, method of production, which, adapted to Latin, gives rise to the word ‘poetry’”. It is this meaning that, even though it is not about literary-poetic production, permeates this article. As we will discuss in the following sections, we approach creativity through art as a form of creation that can be, at the same time, a form of existence, resistance and insubordination.

When we want to think about creativity in conjunction with pedagogical practices, we realize that, despite being encouraged, it is not well defined in Brazilian normative documents, its meaning falling back into common sense, so that these documents do not help teachers to approach or deal with the topic. In the old Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais [National Curriculum Parameters — PCN], in the section on Natural Sciences, Mathematics and their Technologies, the word creativity appeared only twice. In one of them, it read:

In its formative role, Mathematics contributes to the development of thought processes and the acquisition of attitudes, whose usefulness and scope transcend the scope of Mathematics itself, and can form in the student the ability to solve genuine problems, generating habits of investigation, providing confidence and detachment to analyze and face new situations, enabling the formation of a broad and scientific vision of reality, the perception of beauty and harmony, the development of creativity and other personal capacities

(^{Brasil, 1997}, p. 40, our emphasis).

Today, considering the Base Nacional Comum Curricular [National Common Curriculum Base — BNCC], the term creativity gains some prominence in the second¹ general competency of Basic Education and in the learning of Early Childhood Education. In the section As finalidades do Ensino Médio na contemporaneidade [The purposes of High School in contemporary times], the term appears associated with the world of work and, once again, with entrepreneurship, when it states that a school that welcomes the youth of this time must be structured to

provide a culture favorable to the development of attitudes, capabilities and values ​​that promote entrepreneurship (creativity, innovation, organization, planning, responsibility, leadership, collaboration, vision of the future, risk-taking, resilience and scientific curiosity, among others), understood as an essential skill for personal development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employability

(^{Brasil, 2017}, p. 466, our emphasis).

Subsequently, when defending the use of technologies in education, the aforementioned text points out that the teacher must

use, propose and/or implement solutions (processes and products) involving different technologies, to identify, analyze, model and solve complex problems in different areas of daily life, effectively exploring logical reasoning, computational thinking, the spirit of investigation and creativity

(^{Brasil, 2017}, p. 475, our emphasis).

The other references to creativity in the BNCC appear occasionally and only in the areas of Languages ​​and Natural Sciences. This raises several questions: is there no room for creativity in Mathematics classes? Is it not necessary to be creative to study Mathematics? Has nothing creative been produced using mathematical ideas? Can't mathematical rationality be accompanied by creativity? The answer to all these questions is yes.

We risk advocating, based on perspectives and practices, for a space in Mathematics classes for creativity. And, although it is possible to present several arguments to bring art and Mathematics closer together, we will focus on a key one for this article: paintings with mathematical elements, as evidenced by the works² of Maurits Cornelis Escher, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Geraldo de Barros and Georgy Kurasov, the latter being the painter whose paintings are the subject of this article.

However, we recognize that there is a Gordian knot in any discussion that attempts to conceptualize creativity in schools and in Mathematics classes. Perhaps this is why ^{Gontijo et al. (2019, p. 14-15)} argue that “the importance of a discussion about creativity in the field of Mathematics lies in the fact that this discipline is treated, paradoxically, as a difficult area, impossible to learn or, even, exclusive to geniuses”. Thus, we escape the obstinate search for a closed concept, which represents the entirety of creativity and its reverberations, to think of possible approximations and unveilings.

What does not fit into this framework are the historically outdated versions that say that creativity would have its “origin in a mystical approach that considered it a divine gift or a present from a spiritual entity, which endowed some individuals with a superior condition of creative power” (^{Gontijo et al., 2019}, p. 19). Or that it is always a manifestation of human madness, “something that man could not control and that would be impossible to measure” (^{Faria et al., 2018}, p. 22).

Everyone has a creative potential that can be further developed.

The subjective characteristics that participate in the creative expression of the subject are constituted and developed throughout the course of his/her life story based on the relationships that he/she establishes in his/her different social contexts of actions and relationships. Therefore, the school space becomes an essential space in the constitution of the personal characteristics that intervene in the subject's capacity to express himself/herself creatively. The recognition of this reality suggests the need to plan intentional educational actions that contribute to developing these personal resources and, consequently, developing the subjects' possibilities for creative expression

(^{Martínez, 2002}, p. 191).

^{Morais (2015)} presents other elements for us to think about: the constitution of a creative person is not something unrelated to the construction of their own personality.

Of course, having personality does not guarantee being creative. The opposite, however, is true: being creative implies having characteristics such as autonomy, self-confidence, tolerance to ambiguity or persistence. There is no creativity without autonomy, as this allows for individuality, the uniqueness of the project and creative people normally believe more in themselves, with self-confidence being a protector against risks that creative traits may imply

(^{Morais, 2015}, p. 4).

Furthermore, creativity cannot be thought of only as being linked to students’ attitudes and skills: we also need to invest in the training of creative teachers. The characteristic trait of this teacher is to be a provocateur of their students’ creativity, while at the same time being bold and curious, flexible to suggestions, providing opportunities, protecting and encouraging creative work (^{Peraça and Montoito, 2023}).

Creative teachers, encouraged by a creative school, can enhance their students' creative thinking. Knowing that a student spends a large part of the day inside an educational institution, this should be a place to cultivate imagination, where people would be prepared for the world and generate new ideas, new opportunities [and also take risks and try out new ways of expressing themselves, of being in the world, of living]

(^{Peraça and Montoito, 2023}, p. 2).

^{Morais (2015)} comments that, in common sense, creativity is associated with an insight, popularized in comic books and advertisements by a light bulb that suddenly turns on over the agent who had the idea. Despite this, the author states that insight only happens after intense work and persistence in the face of different information and knowledge that are integrated, which is why being creative is

mastering knowledge [...]. Now, to make associations of information, it is necessary to possess it. In order to create, it is therefore important not only to have in-depth knowledge about the domain in which one creates, but also multidisciplinary knowledge — and this not only considering high creativity, but also creation in everyday life

(^{Morais, 2015}, p. 4).

Contemporary research indicates that creativity is “a complex, multifaceted and heterogeneous process, with different forms and levels of expression, whose existence depends on very diverse conditions and the existence of other complex psychological processes” (^{Martínez, 2002}, p. 190). According to ^{Lubart (2007, p. 17)}, “creativity requires a particular combination of relevant factors of the individual, such as intellectual capacities and personality traits, in addition to the environmental context”. It is, therefore, a “sociocultural process and not just an individual phenomenon” (^{Alencar and Fleith, 2003}, p. 16).

These points of view highlight the importance of seeing — as well as thinking and planning — school (in general) and Mathematics classes (in particular) as environments that instigate the creation of ideas and that provide appropriate techniques for the development of the student, because every human being, to one degree or another, has creative potential.

What seems to happen is that, unfortunately, “in most people, the development and expression of these skills have been blocked and inhibited by an environment that encourages fear of ridicule and criticism” (^{Alencar and Fleith, 2003}, p. 9). This role of something or someone that constrains impulses of creative potential can no longer be the role of school or teacher — in fact, it never was, although it was recurrent.

On the contrary: since school is one of the main spaces for children and young people to experience and socialize, it is essential that it becomes a privileged place for pedagogical work that favors the development of creativity (^{Gontijo et al., 2019}). In the specific case of Mathematics, Muniz (2009) apud ^{Gontijo et al. (2019, p. 60)} argues that “mathematical situations need, preferably, to be of a varied nature, so that the student can demonstrate their knowledge and ability in Mathematics not only through the operation of algorithms, but also through texts, graphics or multimedia actions” — it is not on the author's list, however, we understand that artistic expressions could also be part of the list of options presented.

The importance of creativity in the school context is increasingly recognized, as is the need to develop strategies and actions to stimulate and develop it. However, despite the increase in scientific production on creativity and innovation and the numerous practical experiences with encouraging results, creativity and innovation do not currently constitute real values ​​in most educational institutions. This is clearly expressed in the gap between an accepted discourse, in which creativity is valued, and a reality in which creativity does not achieve, with exceptions, significant expressions

(^{Martínez, 2002}, p. 190).

This article aims to inspire teachers and mathematics educators to venture into a dialogue between Mathematics and art as a pedagogical proposal to encourage the development of creativity in their students. We seek to demonstrate that, in addition to problem-solving, software activities, and approaches through mathematical modeling, art can contribute to the development of creativity, according to the aspects listed by ^{Gontijo (2007)}: fluency (abundance or quantity of different ideas produced on the same subject), flexibility (ability to change thinking or conceive different categories of answers), originality (presentation of infrequent or unusual answers), and elaboration (presentation of a large amount of details in a single idea).

To conclude this section, it is imperative to recall that, along the way, we abandoned the idea of ​​a concept that encompasses everything that the word creativity expresses. This does not mean that we disregard the elements that the Greek definition, cited above, brought, but that we will extrapolate the vernacular to consider, beyond what creativity is, what it produces in the subject and how it is produced by him, via art — especially from the perspective of insurrection.

3 Approaches between art and Mathematics

This section is divided into two parts: in the first, we present the idea of ​​art as insurrection, that is, as a way of being in the world that stands as a force against the bureaucratization and pasteurization of life; in the second, we present some ideas about Artificial Intelligence, a topic that is beginning to be discussed with greater attention in the field of Education.

The relevance of these parts lies in the fact that, later, they will be united in the suggestion of a pedagogical activity that mixes mathematics and art, designed for the classroom.

3.2 Artificial Intelligence as a generator of insurgent creative images

The presence of AI is not something new, but it has taken on different proportions as access to different resources, search assistants and programs that use AI become more popular in contemporary times. Isaac Asimov, a mathematician and renowned writer of scientific literature, drew attention to the potential and limitations of AI back in the 1970s, whose advancement is achieved through the machines' manipulation of not only numbers, but also symbols that represent knowledge. In this sense,

the rules for combining these symbols replace traditional methods of numerical information processing (algorithms). Thus, machines can be led to simulate intelligent behavior, using procedures similar to exploratory research. Games involving logic were the first experiments in this area. It is possible, for example, to include in a program the tens of billions of combinations that a game of chess can present. Therefore, from any position, the computer must be able to examine sequences of moves that it has never “seen” and perform new, unforeseen operations. In any case, this is merely a mimicry of intelligent behavior

(^{Asimov, 1992}, p. 135)⁶.

Recently, the World Commission on Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) defined AI as “machines capable of imitating certain functionalities of human intelligence, including perception, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, linguistic interaction and, however, the production of creative works” (UNESCO, 2021). We note that the idea of ​​human imitation remains.

Is AI capable of going beyond the mimicry of intelligent human behavior? Regardless of the answer, the central problem is not this, but enters the moral, ethical and aesthetic field. The fact is that AI has become just another technology to be used, mastered, manipulated, without necessarily being accompanied by an exercise in reflection on the implications of its use, or impacts for good or for bad, whether in school or outside it. Thinking about the use of AI to develop creativity in Math classes in connection with the arts, without violating Human Rights, is necessary. Therefore, we have made some moves in this direction, developing and proposing activities in undergraduate and graduate courses, with professors who teach Mathematics.

AI produces images from the connections it establishes with the different networks of information, data and images available on the Internet. At this very moment, as the reader reads these lines, different AIs are learning to identify visual patterns and generate new image compositions, for different purposes and with different levels of quality. These images, in some way, express what is circulating in the virtual neural networks to which the AI ​​has access and can provide interesting indications about what is circulating about Mathematics and art, for example.

Virtual neural networks simulate living cells that behave — due to the way they are interconnected — in a way that none of them would behave if considered in isolation, and are capable of developing cognitive strategies and finding non-programmed solutions based on connections they establish with a relatively large number of elements (^{Coucht, 2009}).

It is interesting to note that images that are freely accessible and produced by AI, such as Bing, Canva, etc., tend to be visually cluttered, with an excess of elements and intense color palettes — the result of a process that reveals ongoing machine learning. Despite these aesthetic limitations, images produced by AI can help students and teachers learn about, reflect on, and think about the different ways in which Mathematics has been present in the world over time. A simple and interesting exercise is to ask an AI to produce images based on some keywords that surround a topic of interest, allowing it to develop possible connections from the immense amount of information and images to which it has access.

From the prompt to create an image with mathematical elements in the works of art by [...], we asked Microsoft Bing's AI to generate images in which mathematical elements could be observed in the works of Mondrian, Salvador Dali, Almada Negreiros and Paul Klee. All of these artists explore geometric elements in their paintings, but how does the AI ​​perceive and compose with them? To think a little about this, we selected the images shown in Figure 1, which were produced on October 2, 2024, between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Figure 1 Composition of AI-generated images 

In each case, the AI ​​generated four images, and those that presented elements that most closely resembled the works produced by the respective artists were selected. It is possible to see direct links, such as the primary colors, which are constant in Mondrian's paintings (top, left), and Salvador Dali's own face, inserted in the image (top, right). Furthermore, traces and marks of the paintings of the respective artists are noticeable.

However, it is necessary to analyze them critically, based on knowledge already built through the teacher-student relationship: it is not the case that we should take the images generated by the AI ​​as always being excellent representations of the requested prompt. In this specific case, it is clear that the AI ​​has not yet fully appropriated Mondrian's works (since it created an image with circles, which does not appear in his works), nor those of Negreiros or Klee, since it generated images that have a color palette that does not match the hues frequently used by these painters.

From these considerations, based on the images created, interesting and important discussions can be promoted in the classroom. These activities enhance the development of perception, visuality, the identification of patterns and shapes and promote, even if minimally, the beginning of a visual-aesthetic education. Furthermore, based on these four images, others can be generated, in 3D for example, so that the level of complexity increases and new mathematical elements can be perceived.

The experience in question involves humans and AI interacting and creating together, since the ones who define the prompt — what to highlight or hide — are the AI ​​users themselves. More than consumers, users have an infinite number of creative possibilities at their disposal. This ends up generating the need for directions, choices and filters, refining a creative process that encourages them to learn more about the artists and their productions, their painting styles, the context in which the works were produced, among other aspects. It is also important to use imagination, putting the image into action to propose the repetition of the prompt, refining the results presented: when we insert new, more specific information, the image is (trans)formed into a new image.

This exercise of creation and (re)creation, typical of the artistic experience, is also present in the understanding of a mathematical concept. This is an exercise in insurrection, as it requires that time be dedicated to experimenting — which, as already seen, goes against the extremely fast pace of everyday life, to which we are compelled daily.

4 A proposal based on the works of Georgy Kurasov

In addition to the mathematical features present in Georgy Kurasov's paintings, discussed below, we chose to work with this painter because he is contemporary. Introducing him to students can help demystify the idea that the History of Art is a thing of the past and that today it is no longer possible to produce art in a creative and original way, nor to achieve recognition.

Georgy Kurasov is a Russian visual artist who works with sculpture and painting — the latter is the one highlighted in this section. The artist was born in 1958, in Saint Petersburg (Russia), where he still lives and works. Kurasov began studying art at the age of 13, when his mother took him to the Art School that belonged to the Academy of Art. “At the interview it was politely explained that there was nothing for Georgy in the painting department since he had a total lack of feeling for colour. So they suggested Georgy Kurasov join the sculpture class” (^{Kurasov, [n.d.]}).

Later, in 1977, Kurasov enrolled in the sculpture course at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he remained for 6 years. According to ^{Nassif (2012)}, it was due to political changes in his country that Kurasov began to make small paintings as souvenirs for foreign tourists, which helped him to maintain his family’s financial survival. Kurasov’s first painting exhibition took place in 1993, in the United States, and since then, his works have been sold almost exclusively in that country (^{Nassif, 2012}).

On the websites that present Kurasov’s works, there seems to be no consensus on which strand of Art History his paintings most closely align with. Brazilian illustrator and designer ^{Lima Júnior (2012)} states that they “mix the figurative style of Art Deco⁷ with Cubism⁸”, while ^{Cole (2021)} identifies in them elements of neoconstructivism⁹, mobilized by the painter to portray

men and women in fragmented form. Not only does this approach distort his subject's bodies into extreme proportions, but it also creates a surreal sense of space. The slivers of different colors construct a warped perspective in which objects are flattened until they appear two-dimensional. Altogether, these stylistic choices make each one of Kurasov's paintings a mesmerizing experience

(^{Cole, 2021}).

The representation of the masculine appears less frequently in Kurasov’s paintings; most of his canvases show “women that vibrate with energy and color. These dynamic pictures are reminiscent of images seen through a kaleidoscope as each cool-faced figure is rendered using an array of saturated geometric shapes” (^{Cole, 2021}). Each of his representations is an “interesting and creative” (^{Lima Júnior, 2012}) mix of a “bold color palettes and geometric shapes” (^{Cole, 2021}).

It is, undeniably, the geometric shapes that draw the attention and sensitize the observer’s gaze, right from the first contact with a painting by Kurasov. As with the great names in the History of Art, his works have the particularity of — once his style is known and unraveled — being automatically and unequivocally attributed to him. Among them, we present four that touch us in a particular way.

Starting with the top left image and moving clockwise, we number and present Kurasov’s paintings:

Figure 2 Composition of four canvases by Georgy Kurasov¹¹  

It is easy to see the presence of straight lines that serve as contours for the painted forms and, often, soften the curves of the human body or objects. Sometimes, a set of straight lines forms a polygon that completely or partially encloses the depicted figure, as in the torso and leg of the dancers, which are enclosed in a quadrilateral (work 2) or the body of the sleeping girl, also enclosed in a quadrilateral from which only the right leg escapes (work 3). Straight lines also divide the paintings into areas of interest: two parallel horizontal lines divide work 4 into three parts of unequal measurements (from the sky to the woman's arm; between the woman's arms; from the woman's breast to the ground) and a transversal line, in work 3, divides the woman's body into two parts.

Another geometric shape that is easy to recognize is the circumference — or arcs of circles —, which both delimit the contours of the forms and give them movement. In work (1), we see an almost complete circle that encloses the horse's head, its belly, the Amazon's shield and her arm, as well as another arc (turned downwards) that, intersecting the first circle, outlines the woman's leg and the handle of her shield. In work (4), all the most prominent elements are inscribed in a large circle, which touches the ends of the canvas.

Based on these observations, the proposal we present is, in its genesis, very simple. Its steps can be modified or adapted, at the teacher's discretion, and can also be developed in the time he or she deems most appropriate.

Step 1 — Present one or two works by Kurasov to the students, as well as a short biography of the artist. The presentation can be done using material prepared and projected by the teacher or through one of the many videos that can be found on the internet¹².

Step 2 — Divide the class into small groups and ask them to research other paintings by Kurasov; at the end of this step, each group should select a few (the number that the teacher feels comfortable working with in class) and present them to the other groups.

Step 3 — Using tracing paper and placing it over the images that reproduce the chosen works, ask the students to trace, with a ruler, compass and other instruments (if applicable), the mathematical shapes that they can visualize (straight lines, polygons, circles, arcs, etc.). Later, by moving the tracing paper over the image, students will be able to have a purer view of the mathematical elements manipulated in the creation of that painting.

Step 4 — Ask the students to create, using AI tools, images that evoke the style of Kurasov's paintings. The number of new images produced per group can vary according to the time that the teacher wishes to dedicate to this activity. It is suggested that this step be an extracurricular activity and that the images be presented in class later.

Step 5 — During the presentation of the new images, group members must not forget to highlight the mathematical elements that make up the work(s) created.

It is worth noting that, in Step 4, the teacher can give students complete freedom to express their creativity, but can also suggest guidelines for creating the image: the image must contain a pair of parallel lines; the human figure in the image must be entirely contained within a regular/irregular quadrilateral; at least one element of the image must be delimited by a circle; the image must present a set of half-lines that have a common point as their origin, among others.

In addition to geometric shapes, it may be in the teacher's interest to work, even if only in an underlying way, on the production of images that aim at decolonial education, proposing that students create representations of black bodies or LGBTQIAPN+ bodies, in scenarios that express social issues, attacks on the environment, violations of human rights, women's rights, among others. It is clear, as we discussed in section 2 of this article, that the creativity of the teacher when planning their classes and activities impacts the way in which the student uses their own creativity in the school environment.

By way of conclusion, we return to AI: students could undoubtedly be asked to make freehand drawings inspired by Kurasov's works; so why, in this article, do we suggest the use of AI? Wouldn't freehand drawing be more creative? To answer this question, we return to the aspects of creativity that ^{Gontijo (2007)} considers important: fluency (abundance or quantity of different ideas produced on the same subject), flexibility (ability to change thinking or conceive different categories of answers), originality (presentation of infrequent or unusual answers) and elaboration (presentation of a large amount of details in a single idea).

The teacher suggests some guidelines for creating an image based on Kurasov's works, which will include: the different representations that each group will present on the same subject (fluency); the way in which a requested quadrilateral, for example, will appear in different ways in different images (flexibility); the illustrations created that satisfy the previously agreed conditions (originality); the variety of works created (elaboration). It is, above all, in this last aspect — that of producing several works to be displayed side by side, forming an attractive set of Kurasovian canvases — that AI proves to be a powerful ally in the exercise of creativity.

4 Final considerations

Throughout this theoretical essay, we have presented the topic of creativity for discussion. While we do not seek to find an exact definition for it in the above, we do, on the other hand, encourage an understanding of what it produces as a way of being in the world.

Creativity — which is present in all individuals and can be increasingly developed by them as they experience cultural and personal experiences — cannot be ignored in school practices. In the specific case of Mathematics, one way to help students develop their creativity is to think of activities that put this subject in contact with art.

From this perspective, we present a proposal for an activity based on the paintings of Russian artist Georgy Kurasov, with the aim of making some of the ideas discussed more tangible. However, as previously highlighted, we expect the teacher to establish himself as a bold and creative being, taking the risks of his own inventiveness, which may lead him to modify the activity significantly or choose another painter to work with his students.

The most important thing about the proposal we present is that we do not use art as an object to be taught, that is, it is not reduced to a mathematical exercise for the classroom, detaching itself from its creative potential. We long for exactly the opposite: to create, to give free rein to creativity, to do and redo, to throw everything away and start over — if necessary.

We also emphasize that the use of AI cannot be understood as an inhibitor of creativity, or even of critical thinking, since, as commented on from the images it creates, not everything that will be generated will meet the expectations of the students or the teacher. Nevertheless, getting to know it better and losing the fear of it can be a very important step for the teacher who will be in the classroom over the next decades. In the sense of the above, the text brought elements that achieve the main objective, which was to discuss the exercise of creativity in mathematics classes through art, not in relation to a closed concept, but giving vent to creativity as a creative power and as a way of being in the world.

As a theoretical essay that, as highlighted at the beginning of this article, is articulated around a theoretical discussion whose purpose is to defend, rationally and logically, a point of view or an idea, we defend art as an insurrection against the pimping/banality of life, inviting the student, in mathematics class, to an aesthetic exercise, to express themselves creatively in the world, to break with the accelerated pace of productivity.

And, without the intention of exhausting the subject, we hope that reading this article will invite other teachers to reflect, both theoretically and empirically, on the connections and possibilities presented.