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.

SEARCH THE LANDFILL! – Several Indigenous Women’s Remains Are Still Missing. Canadian Police Refuse To Search For Them. — Stigmatis

Winnipeg police said they won’t check a local landfill where the remains of three murdered indigenous women have been likely sitting for months. By Sanjana Karanth | 11 Dec. 2022 The remains of three out of four indigenous women believed … Continue reading →

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COLONIALISMO del siglo XXI: ¿implementado por corporaciones y ONG? ¿De quién está en juego la supervivencia aquí, Survival? ¿La supervivencia de los bosques tropicales y los pueblos Indígenas o Cartier y otros en la industria de la joyería de oro y diamantes? – ¿Estás pensando en donar a una ONG? ¡Por favor, lea esto primero! – actualización 2023

“La necedad del hombre aumentó el valor del oro y la plata debido a su escasez; mientras que la naturaleza, como padre amoroso, nos dio gratuitamente las mejores cosas, como el aire, la tierra y el agua, pero nos ocultó … Continue reading →

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Sky Hopinka Is Tired of Explaining Everything to Non-Natives — Lara Trace Hentz

excerpt: Sky Hopinka Is Tired of Explaining Everything to Non-Natives ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, New York —Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) makes work at the intersection of abstracted imagery, written word, and dynamic washes of sound and music. The filmmaker … Continue reading →

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COLONIALISMO do século 21 – implementado por corporações e ONGs? Cuja sobrevivência está em jogo aqui, Survival? A sobrevivência das florestas tropicais e dos povos Indígenas ou da Cartier e outros na indústria de joias de ouro e diamantes? – Pensando em doar para uma ONG? Por favor, leia isso primeiro! – atualização 2023

“A tolice do homem aumentou o valor do ouro e da prata por causa de sua escassez; enquanto a natureza, como um pai amoroso, nos deu gratuitamente as melhores coisas, como ar, terra e água, mas escondeu de nós as … Continue reading →

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Indian Removals and Reservations — Lara Trace Hentz

SOURCE Article: Americanization of Native Americans Further information: List of Native American reservations in the United States In the 19th century, the incessant westward expansion of the United States incrementally compelled large numbers of Native Americans to resettle further west, … Continue reading →

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COLONIALISME du 21e siècle – mis en œuvre par les corporations et les ONG ? De qui est en jeu la survie ici, Survival ? La survie des forêts tropicales et des peuples Indigènes ou de Cartier et d’autres dans l’industrie de la joaillerie en or et diamants ? – Si vous envisagez de faire un don à une ONG, veuillez d’abord lire ceci ! – mise à jour 2023

“La folie de l’homme a augmenté la valeur de l’or et de l’argent à cause de leur rareté; tandis que la nature, comme un parent aimable, nous a donné libremente les meilleures choses, comme l’air, la terre et l’eau, mais … Continue reading →

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Did you know about The Mashpee Nine? — Lara Trace Hentz

My friend Paula Peters and I met at the Native American Journalists Association years ago Paula Peters is an active member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe based in Mashpee, Massachusetts and owner of SmokeSygnals, a media and communications consulting firm. … Continue reading →

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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

“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

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

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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