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.

The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 7 – « Totemic Light Sculptures – Yanomami shamanic chants – Mixed media art installation I » :49

Posted on October 5, 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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‘We are not afraid’: Indigenous Brazilian women stand up to gender violence — HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Human Wrongs Watch 21 January 2023 (UN News)* — Women from Brazil’s indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence, but UN-backed initiatives, and a change in the law, are encouraging them to seek protection. UNFPA Brazil/Isabela Martel | Lutana … 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 October 4, 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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The Biogeography of the Oceans — msamba

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

[..] So far in my studies of biogeography, we’ve mainly looked at how life distributes and structures itself on land. Today we’re changing that by taking a deep dive into the many similarities and differences between terrestrial and marine environments. … Continue reading →

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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 October 3, 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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Five Climate Questions for 2023 — Mother Jones

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

This piece was published originally by Capital & Main. All good stories start with a question. So here are five questions for journalists to consider as the record-breaking accumulation of greenhouse gases continues into the opening days of 2023.   1,607 more words Five Climate … 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 October 2, 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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Fragmentação do território amazônico em ilhas prejudica interações vitais entre as espécies!

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Raphael Alves / International Monetary Fund Flickr Fragmentos florestais provocados pela ação humana na Amazônia não conseguem manter as mesmas interações ecológicas das áreas de vegetação contínua. Ou seja, a biodiversidade dessas áreas isoladas não funciona da mesma maneira como … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 3 – « Washington – Amazon » 3:44

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Washington – Amazon » alternates scenes from two art installations of my paintings and totemic sculptures in Washington D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, USA, with the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures in the Yanomami village of Arata-Teri in the … Continue reading →

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Pesquisadores descobrem população de onças-pintadas na Serra do Mar no Paraná!

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Com a descoberta, a região se torna a maior área prioritária para a conservação da onça-pintada na Mata Atlântica no Brasil. No bioma, a espécie perdeu 85% do habitat; A pesquisa gerou registros fotográficos e em vídeos inéditos do felino na … Continue reading →

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