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.

Jaguar Panthera onca — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Jaguar populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation for palm oil, soy and meat along with illegal murder for trophies/illegal trade in body parts. They are also the victims of pro-active or retaliatory killings associated with livestock depredation and … Continue reading →

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A Fable with a Message –  « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro 

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Amazon Rainforest Magic presents a world that at first might seem whimsical, where people, animals, and plants joke, conspire, and argue with each other. The serious point is that humans are no more important than any of the other creatures … Continue reading →

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Légende de l’eau du peuple Tzotzil : Popchón et Xulubchón, les monstres du fleuve — Peuples autochtones d’Abya Yala

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Photographie avec le paysage du Canyon du Sumidero au Chiapas. Où l’on peut voir le lit de la rivière Grijalva entre les parois rocheuses et la végétation de la falaise. (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon_du_Sumidero#/media/Fichier:Canyon_sumidero_desde_arriba.jpg) Popchón et Xulubchón, les monstres des rivières Il y … Continue reading →

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Brasil registra 274 línguas indígenas diferentes faladas por 305 etnias — Ecoamazônia

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Segundo dados do último Censo Demográfico realizado pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) em 2010, o Brasil registrou à época a existência de 274 línguas indígenas no país, onde vivem 817.963 mil indígenas de 305 diferentes etnias. 29 … Continue reading →

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Un cuento de iniciación: « 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 21, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Desde sus primeras páginas, La Magie de l’Amazonie, este libro encantador para niños describe un mundo casi inimaginable en el siglo XXI. Un mundo tropical, exuberante e agitado, desbordante de una vida en comunión con los espíritus de los animales … Continue reading →

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Los «guardianes de la selva», los protectores de los bosques en Colombia — Stigmatis

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Rosa habla en una entrevista con EFE durante un recorrido por la selva, en Tumaco (Colombia). EFE/Ernesto Guzmán Laia Mataix Gómez || Tumaco (Colombia) 13 Nov. 2022 Rosa se adentra en la selva colombiana con uno de sus alumnos, a … Continue reading →

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Buffy-tufted-ear Marmoset Callithrix aurita — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

These enchanting and charismatic tiny monkeys have a distinct “gothic” appearance. They live deep in the forests of a tiny area of Brazil. Buffy-tufted-ear Marmosets are also known as buffy tufted-ear mamosets or the white-eared marmosets. They are New World … Continue reading →

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Un conte initiatique: « La Magie de l’Amazonie – Les aventures de Namowë, un garçon Yanomami » – Pour les 8 à 12 à 100 ans! – écrit et illustré par Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Dès ses premières pages La Magie de l’Amazonie, cet attachant livre pour enfants, décrit un monde presque inimaginable au XXIe siècle. Un monde tropical, luxuriant et agité, débordant d’une vie en communion avec les esprits des animaux et des plantes. … Continue reading →

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Thousands more species at risk of extinction than currently recorded, suggests new study — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

New research suggests the extinction crisis may be even worse than we thought. More than half of species that have so far evaded any official conservation assessment are threatened with extinction. Some species that are not yet classified and are … Continue reading →

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COP27: há um grande assunto que nossos líderes não tocarão: pecuária!

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A pecuária está a caminho de devorar metade do orçamento mundial de carbono, então por que os governos têm tanto medo de discutir isso? Gado é alimentado no estado do Colorado, EUA. Fotografia: Jim West/Alamy Por George Monbiot para  o … Continue reading →

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