Author Archives: Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

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About Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

I'm a French artist living near Paris. From 1968 to 1973 I studied at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, then at the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, California, for my BFA. My work for many decades has been informed and inspired by time spent with indigenous communities. Various study trips devoted to the exploration of techniques and natural pigments took me originally to the Dogon of Mali, West Africa, and subsequently to Yanomami communities in Venezuela and Brazil. Over many years, during the winters, I studied the techniques of traditional Bogolan painting. Hand woven fabric is dyed with boiled bark from the Wolo tree or crushed leaves from other trees, then painted with mud from the Niger river which oxidizes in contact with the dye. Through the Dogon and the Yanomami, my interest in the multiplicity of techniques and supports for aesthetic expression influenced my artistic practice. The voyages to the Amazon Rainforest have informed several series of paintings created while living among the Yanomami. The support used is roughly woven canvas prepared with acrylic medium then textured with a mixture of sand from the river bank and lava. This supple canvas is then rolled and transported on expeditions into the forest. They are then painted using a mixture of acrylic colors and Achiote and Genipap, the vegetal pigments used by the Yanomami for their ritual body paintings and on practical and shamanic implements. My concern for the ongoing devastation of the Amazon Rainforest has inspired my films and installation projects. Since 2005, I've created a perfomance and film project - Fire Sculpture - to bring urgent attention to Rainforest issues. To protest against the continuing destruction, I've publicly set fire to my totemic sculptures. These burning sculptures symbolize the degradation of nature and the annihilation of indigenous cultures that depend on the forest for their survival.

Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Giant Anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla Extant (resident): Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Honduras; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Venezuela Possibly Extinct: Argentina; Belize; El Salvador; Guatemala; Uruguay Vulnerable The Giant Anteater is at risk from habitat … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 6 – « Totemic Sculptures – Grace Teshima Gallery Exhibit » 4:04

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

In « Totemic Sculptures – Grace Teshima Gallery Exhibit » textured paintings plus two totemic sculptures, one in canvas and one in metal, alternate with scenes of Yanomami life in the Amazon rainforest on a small screen. The elements of the two … Continue reading →

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Orinoco Crocodile Crocodylus intermedius — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

The enigmatic blue-billed curassow (Crax alberti – local name “Paujil”), endemic to the tropical humid forests of northern Colombia, is the cracid species most threatened with extinction in the wild from #deforestation Orinoco Crocodile Crocodylus intermedius — Palm Oil Detectives

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 5 – « The Forest is Burning – Art Installation » 5:22

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Forest is Burning – Art Installation » alternates scenes from the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures at the art space La Miroiterie in Paris with the « Fire Performance » burning of another of my totemic sculptures in … Continue reading →

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Spiny-headed Tree Frog Triprion spinosus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A shy, arboreal species, Spiny-headed Tree Frogs are rarely seen and they live out their lives quietly in bromeliads and other tropical plants. They can be found in the subtropical forests of mountain ranges. They prefer intact forest and secondary … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 4 – « Fire Sculpture Performance at the Mairie du 2ème, Paris, France » 4:18

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Fire Sculpture Performance at the Mairie du 2ème, Paris, France » alternates scenes from the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures during the collective art exhibition at the Mairie de 2ème, Paris, France – in support of the Indigenous … Continue reading →

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Dhole Canis Cuon alpinus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Fiercely protective, elusive and beautiful Dholes are an ancient species of wild dog that diverged from other dog species millions of years ago. Dholes are also known as Asiatic Wild Dogs, Indian Wild Dogs, Red Wolves and Mountain Wolves. Once … Continue reading →

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Season’s Greetings to All Species!

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

– PEACE ON EARTH –

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Spectacled Bear Tremarctos ornatus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Spectacled bears are known as the ‘peaceful and gentle bear’. They are the only bear living in the tropics of South America. Like many other animals in tropical ecosystems they are endangered. They get their name from their eye-catching markings … Continue reading →

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Happiest Holidays from Paris !!!

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project
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