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.

Mon petit film préféré ! – Parfois on rate les plus beaux moments – NE MANQUEZ PAS ce film magique de 38 secondes – “L’ami surprise du garçon Yanomami dans la jungle” !

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Veuillez aider à protéger les forêts, les rivières, la faune et la vie des Yanomami et des autres peuples autochtones en boycottant TOUS les produits de la déforestation ; or, huile de palme, bois exotique, soja, boeuf, etc. ! Voici le … Continue reading →

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Orinoco Crocodile Crocodylus intermedius — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on October 10, 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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My Favorite Little Film! – Sometimes we miss the most beautiful moments – DON’T MISS THIS one! A magical 38-second film – “The Yanomami boy’s surprise friend in the jungle”!

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Please help protect the forests, rivers, wildlife and the lives of the Yanomami and other Indigenous peoples by boycotting ALL products from deforestation; gold, palm oil, exotic wood, soy, beef, etc. Here’s the 38-second film of the Yanomami boy in … Continue reading →

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“Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden” — Lara Trace Hentz

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Read this blog! “Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden” — Lara Trace Hentz

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 10 – « Yanomami children and their community in the Amazon Rainforest » 13:16

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A film of instants of daily life of a Yanomami community in the Amazon Rainforest of Venezuela made to accompany the children’s book series: “Amazon Rainforest Magic” “La Magie de l’Amazonie” and “La Magia de la Amazonia” for ages 8 … Continue reading →

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Fascinating! – Caecilians: secretive, strange and slithering underground dwellers in tropical rainforests — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

OK, Ok…I know this is quite a scary photo but hear me out. Caecilians are legless, eyeless creatures live secretive, strange lives underground and underwater. Not quite snakes, not quite worms and not quite amphibians either. Once you know more … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 9 – « Yanomami boy’s surprise friend in the jungle! » :38 seconds of Magic!

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Sometimes we miss the most beautiful moments-DON’T MISS THIS ONE!With Namowë, a Yanomami boy in the Alto Orinoco region, Amazonas, Venezuela in his canoe! It’s an excerpt of my film of instants of the daily life of a Yanomami community … Continue reading →

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Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin Cebus malitiosus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin Cebus malitiosus Endangered Colombia The Santa Marta white-fronted capuchin is threatened in Colombia by habitat loss and fragmentation due to cattle ranching and oil palm agro-industries. Pet trade may also pose imminent threats to wild populations … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 8 – « Totemic Light Sculptures II – Yanomami shamanic chants – Mixed media art installation » 1:19

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Yanomami shaman struggle against xawara – the smoke of epidemics – art installation with sounds of many Yanomami shaman chanting to protect the community! The Yanomami shaman who fight the xawara epidemic diseases see their image appear in the form … Continue reading →

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Berçário de peixes é transformado em cemitério por Belo Monte — SUMAÚMA

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Ao encontrar milhões de ovas mortas em uma das piracemas da Volta Grande do Xingu, uma das regiões mais biodiversas da Amazônia, indígenas do povo Yudjá (Juruna) choraram Berçário de peixes é tra

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