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.

21st Century COLONIALISM – implemented by Corporations and NGOs? Whose Survival is at stake here, Survival? The survival of the rainforests and Indigenous peoples or of Cartier and others in the gold and diamond jewelry industry? – If you plan to donate to an NGO, please read this first! – update 2023

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

“Man’s folly hath enhanced the value of gold and silver because of their scarcity; whereas nature, like a kind parent, hath freely given us the best things, such as air, earth, and water, but hath hidden from us those which … Continue reading →

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Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge — The Freshwater Blog

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

Sanya Mangrove Park: a ‘Sponge City’ in China where water is naturally stored and filtered within the urban landscape. Image: Turenscape Water is central to so many contemporary environmental issues. Climate change, biodiversity loss, flooding, the list goes on: water … Continue reading →

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Barbara Crane Navarro: Artist & Activist In Her Own Words — Palm Oil Detectives

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

Bio: Barbara Crane Navarro Barbara Crane Navarro is a French artist, writer, Indigenous and animal activist who lives near Paris. From 1968 to 1973 she studied at Rhode Island School of Design, then she went on to study at the … Continue reading →

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A sumaúma que comoveu Belém — SUMAÚMA

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

Ao cair na madrugada com seus 200 anos de história, a pessoa-árvore levou com ela memórias da vida de tantos, lembranças de uma cidade que se esqueceu de que foi erguida sobre o corpo da natureza A sumaúma que comoveu Belém … Continue reading →

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O uso da tribo amazônica Yanomami pelo comerciante de ouro Cartier leva os defensores Indigenas a alegar hipocrisia!

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Publicidade Cartier/Fundação Cartier com joias de ouro à venda para clicar no texto proclamando um projeto que nunca aconteceu!

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“O comércio do ouro deve ser profundamente revisto para que seja implementada, de maneira sistemática, a fiscalização da origem do metal produzido e destinado ao setor financeiro e joalheiro.” -Bruce Albert -Valor ??? – NÃO! Boicote TODO o ouro, legal e ilegal !!!

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Escravidão indígena por ouro em países colonizados

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Cartier accused of Greenwashing after using images of Indigenous Yanomami tribe devastated by illegal gold mining without their permission!- Short 1:39 film on TikTok!

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

@aljazeeraenglish #Cartier accused of #greenwashing after using images of #Indigenous tribe devastated by illegal gold mining. | #environment #illegalgoldmining #Amazon #fyp #news #luxury ♬ original sound – Al Jazeera English “This frame, which was removed from Cartier’s website, features an … Continue reading →

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Is ‘Chemical Recycling’ a Solution to the Global Scourge of Plastic Waste or an Environmentally Dirty Ruse to Keep Production High? — Stigmatis

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Diplomats, industry reps and environmentalists wrestled with this question during talks in Switzerland on guidelines related to the Basel Convention on hazardous wastes. A Turkish diver dives amid plastic waste in Ortakoy coastline to observe the life and pollution of … Continue reading →

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Cartier’s use of images of Amazon tribe prompts Indigenous advocates to allege hypocrisy! – The Yanomami say: “How can a gold jewelry company, which we, the Yanomami people, are against, use the image of the Yanomami?” “When someone buys gold in a jewelry store, he is financing more invasions to destroy Indigenous lands!” “Anyone who buys a gold ring is part of the crime.” – Slide Show illustration 1:32 –

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

This frame, which was removed from Cartier’s website, features an image of four Yanomami children playing in a lush green field while at the top of the page are links to purchase high-end jewelry. The French luxury jewelry brand said … Continue reading →

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¿Pueden las ballenas ayudar a frenar el calentamiento global? — Stigmatis

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

Ballena jorobada en el mar de Cortés, México. [elmvilla/iStock] Dado que los grandes cetáceos actúan como enormes sumideros de carbono, la adopción de medidas para proteger sus poblaciones podría tener beneficios climáticos. Es bien sabido que los bosques, las marismas y los … Continue reading →

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