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.

Amazon Palm: Global brands continue to source palm oil from Amazon destroyers Agropalma & BBF! — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Major international brands sourcing palm oil from Brazilian plantations linked to violence, torture and land fraud. Global supermarket brands Ferrero, ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Danone, Ferrero, Hershey’s, Kellogg, Mondelez, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and many others source palm oil from Agropalma and … Continue reading →

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Shamanic adventures! – « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« This second volume of the Amazon Rainforest Magic series is a page-turner and as charming and delightful as the author’s first. The story line continues the thread from the previous book and the characters seem like old friends.  Meromi, a Yanomami girl … Continue reading →

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Animales de sangre fría: cada grado de calor global les acerca a la muerte — Stigmatis

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Cada grado que sube la temperatura global, aumenta el estrés térmico de los animales de sangre fría y les acerca a la muerte, incluso en un escenario de subida de temperaturas moderada. Fotografía de archivo de un sapo común. EFE/Ferenc … Continue reading →

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Amazônia é o bioma com mais pastagens no Brasil!

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Nas últimas duas décadas, a área de pastagem cresceu 40% na Amazônia. No mesmo período, esse tipo de cobertura de solo diminuiu substancialmente na Mata Atlântica (28%) e no Cerrado (10%), onde 10,2 milhões de hectares foram transformados em lavouras … Continue reading →

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¡Un libro maravilloso, un tesoro verdaderamente imperdible! – « La Magia de la Amazonia Las aventuras de Namowë, un niño Yanomami » – ¡Para edades de 8 a 12 a 100 años! – escrito e ilustrado por Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« ¡Un libro maravilloso (y con un volumen compañero)!Los libros «La Magia de la Amazonia» son dos tesoros sobre los Yanomami, una tribu de la selva tropical.“Las aventuras de Nanowë, un niño Yanomami” y “Las aventuras de Meromi, una niña Yanomami” … Continue reading →

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Kaapori Capuchin Cebus kaapori — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

The Kaapori capuchin is on a knife-edge of survival – they are critically endangered. In 2017 their population had been decimated by 80% due to deforestation for agriculture including soy, cattle grazing and palm oil. Part of the gracile genus … Continue reading →

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57% dos municípios da Mata Atlântica têm menos de 30% de vegetação natural!

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Agricultura foi o tipo de uso de solo que mais cresceu na Mata Atlântica nos últimos 37 anos. Áreas urbanizadas triplicaram entre 1985 e 2021 A Mata Atlântica, onde vivem 70% dos brasileiros, está cada vez mais distante de sua … Continue reading →

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Un livre merveilleux, un trésor à ne pas manquer ! – « La Magie de l’Amazonie, Les aventures de Meromi, une fille Yanomami » – Pour les 8 à 12 à 100 ans! – écrit et illustré par Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Les livres « La Magie de l’Amazonie » sont deux trésors sur les Yanomami, une tribu de la forêt tropicale.“Les Aventures de Nanowë, un garçon Yanomami” et “Les aventures de Meromi, une fille Yanomami” explorent toutes deux la magie de l’Amazonie à … Continue reading →

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Un estudio remonta el origen de la comunicación vocal a 400 millones de años — Stigmatis

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

La comunicación vocal se originó hace más de 400 millones de años, según un nuevo estudio que demuestra, además, que animales como las tortugas, que se creían mudas, muestran en realidad amplios y complejos repertorios acústicos. Una tortuga nada en … Continue reading →

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The harmful legacy of colonialism in natural hazard risk — Repeating Islands

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Here are excerpts from Jazmin P. Scarlett’s “The harmful legacy of colonialism in natural hazard risk” (published in Nature Communications 13, 6945, 14 November 2022). As Jordens points … Continue reading →

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