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.

« No to GOLD! – No to Cartier ! » Yanomami and Trees versus Gold Mining, Mercury poisoning and Gold Luxury items / Exhibition 2023

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

« The Yanomami shamans who fight the xawara epidemic see the disease’s image appear in the form of strips of scarlet fabric. The xawara epidemic is approaching and its smoke is glowing red! It is making the sky become ghost and is devouring all the … Continue reading →

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SALSA Statement Against Brazil’s Proposed Law PL2903/2023 formerly #490/2007 (6-27-21) — Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

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

Indigenous peoples protesting Law 490 in Brasilia 2021

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Ancora altri Yanomami e alberi! E l’artivista Jaider Esbell? – ALTRA ARTE GREENWASHING dei commercianti d’oro – secondo le loro stesse parole… Un’altra parodia dell'”arte” da parte di Cartier!?

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

« Lettera al Vecchio MondoGenocidio Indigeno del BrasileLa violenza è un ciclo lungo. Gli antichi ordini continuano a risuonare e ora sono arrivati ​​nelle ultime foreste vergini del mondo.L’ordine? Sterminare! » Jaider Esbell ha affermato: « Come popoli Indigeni, siamo già emersi … Continue reading →

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The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth — Conservation Sense and Nonsense

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

“The way out of the depression and grief and guilt of the carbon cul-de-sac we have driven down is to contemplate the world without us. To know that the Earth, that life, will continue its evolutionary journey in all its … Continue reading →

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¡Aún más Yanomami y árboles! ¿Y el artivista Jaider Esbell? – MÁS ARTE DE LAVADO VERDE realizado por comerciantes de ORO – en sus propias palabras… ¿¡Otra parodia del “arte” de Cartier!?

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

« Carta al Viejo MundoGenocidio indígena de BrasilLa violencia es un ciclo largo. Las antiguas órdenes siguen resonando y ahora han llegado a las últimas selvas vírgenes del mundo.¿El orden? ¡Exterminar! » Jaider Esbell dijo: « Como pueblos Indígenas, ya hemos salido … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Generation Dread — Darcy Hitchcock

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

This book is for people of any age who are terrified about the climate crisis or who don’t know how to help loved ones who are. Book Review: Generation Dread — Darcy Hitchcock

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Mais Yanomami e árvores! E o artivista Jaider Esbell? – MAIS ARTE GREENWASHING dos MERCADORES DE OURO – nas suas próprias palavras… Outra paródia da “arte” de Cartier!?

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

Jaider Esbell disse: « Como povos indígenas, já emergimos de um processo histórico apocalíptico. » « Carta ao Velho Mundo » faz parte de uma narrativa visual que denuncia os horrores que os povos indígenas sofreram e ainda sofrem no Brasil e articula … Continue reading →

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A Natural History of the Future — Conservation Sense and Nonsense

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

“The way out of the depression and grief and guilt of the carbon cul-de-sac we have driven down is to contemplate the world without us. To know that the Earth, that life, will continue its evolutionary journey in all its … Continue reading →

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Encore plus de Yanomami et d’arbres ! Et l’artiviste Jaider Esbell ? – PLUS D’ART du GREENWASHING par les MARCHANDS d’OR – selon leurs propres mots… Une autre parodie de “l’art” de Cartier !?

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Lettre à l’Ancien MondeGénocide Indigène Brésil La violence est un long cycle. Les ordres anciens continuent de résonner et sont maintenant arrivés dans les dernières forêts vierges du monde. L’ordre? Exterminer! » Jaider Esbell a déclaré : « En tant qu’Autochtones, … Continue reading →

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Damnation Spring: When fact meets fiction! — Conservation Sense and Nonsense

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

“It’s a vivid portrayal of the land and its people, a snapshot of a not-so-distant time…And it’s a glorious book — an assured novel that’s gorgeously told.” –New York Times Damnation Spring: When fact meets fiction — Conservation Sense and Nonsense

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