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.

« Não ao OURO DE SANGUE! – Não Cartier! » Yanomami e as Árvores contra Mineração de Ouro, contaminação por Mercúrio e artigos de Luxo em Ouro / Exposição 2026

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« A floresta está queimando »Fotomontagem de performances de « Escultura de Fogo »Barbara Crane Navarro « Os xamãs Yanomami que lutam contra a epidemia de xawara veem a imagem da doença aparecer forma de tiras de tecido escarlate. A epidemia de xawara está se … Continue reading →

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« Non à l’OR DU SANG ! – Pas de Cartier ! » Yanomami et les Arbres contre Extraction d’Or, empoisonnement au Mercure et articles de Luxe en Or / Exposition 2026

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« La Forêt Brûle »Photomontage des performances « Sculpture de Feu »Barbara Crane Navarro « Les chamans Yanomami qui combattent l’épidémie de xawara voient l’image de la maladie apparaître sous la forme de bandes de tissu écarlate. L’épidémie de xawara approche et sa fumée est … Continue reading →

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« No to GOLD! – No to Cartier ! » Yanomami and Trees versus Gold Mining, Mercury poisoning and Gold Luxury items / Exhibition 2026

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Forest Is Burning »Photo montage from Fire Sculpture PerformancesBarbara Crane Navarro « 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 … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 1 – « The Way of the Shaman » 2:40

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Way of the Shaman » alternates scenes from an art installation of my paintings and totemic sculptures at the Eyedrum Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with scenes of Yanomami shamanic initiation and daily life in the forest and the village. … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 2 – « The Fire Sculpture » 2:26

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Fire Sculpture » alternates scenes of the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures at Le Chaufferie in St. Maurice, France, with scenes of Yanomami daily life in their forest and village and the « Fire Performance » burning of … 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 January 26, 2026 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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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 January 25, 2026 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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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 January 24, 2026 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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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 January 23, 2026 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 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 January 22, 2026 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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