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.

¡DEVOLVER LA TIERRA AHORA! « La tierra para los Indígenas no tiene valor comercial, como en el sentido privado de propiedad civil. Es una relación de identidad, que incluye espiritualidad y existencia, y se puede decir que no hay comunidad Indígena sin tierra »

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

‘Arrancaron nuestras hojas rompió nuestras ramas cortar nuestros baúles Pero se olvidaron de arrancar nuestras raíces ‘ Y hoy luchamos por la vida. Todavía no entienden. ¡Pero es cierto que los pueblos Indígenas están en peligro de desaparecer! ¡Gracias por … Continue reading →

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The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Expansion Plans Will Be the Death of Us! — Mother Jones

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

This investigation was originally published by the Guardian. It is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The world’s biggest fossil fuel firms are quietly planning scores of “carbon bomb” oil and gas projects that would drive the climate … Continue reading →

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Militares da Venezuela são presos na Amazônia com mercúrio para garimpo! — Ecoamazônia

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

Entre os detidos estão um tenente e um coronel da Força Aérea venezuelana Dois militares venezuelanos foram presos em Pacaraima, no Estado de Roraima, cidade situada na Amazônia e próxima da fronteira com a Venezuela, com mais de 30 quilos … Continue reading →

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DEVOLVA A TERRA AGORA! « A terra para os Indígenas não tem valor comercial, como no sentido privado da posse civil. É uma relação de identidade, que inclui espiritualidade e existência, e é possível afirmar que não existe comunidade Indígena sem terra! »

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

‘ Eles arrancaram nossas folhas quebrou nossos galhos corte nossos troncos Mas eles se esqueceram de arrancar nossas raízes ‘ E hoje estamos lutando pela vida. Eles ainda não entendem. Mas é verdade que os povos indígenas correm o risco … Continue reading →

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Swiss pledge to stop illegal gold imports from Brazil Indigenous reserves – (nice gesture, but tracing the provenance of gold is virtually impossible!)— Ned Hamson’s Second Line View of the News

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

Switzerland imported 24.5 tonnes of gold in 2021, at least a fifth of which came from Brazilian Amazon states. Evidence indicates most of it is mined illegally on Indigenous lands. Illicit mining operations have resulted in major Amazon deforestation, widespread … Continue reading →

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Projeto Ouro Brasil é destaque em seminário internacional sobre rastreabilidade do ouro — Ecoamazônia

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

Serviço Geológico do Brasil apresenta panorama aurífero brasileiro e desenvolvimento de novas abordagens na pesquisa mineral Com o objetivo de discutir temas pertinentes ao poderio aurífero brasileiro, foi realizado, na última terça-feira (28), o segundo dia de programação do “Seminário … Continue reading →

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RENDS LA TERRE MAINTENANT ! « La terre pour les Indigènes n’a aucune valeur commerciale, comme dans le sens privé de la possession civile. C’est une relation d’identité, qui inclut la spiritualité et l’existence, et il est possible d’affirmer qu’il n’y a pas de communauté Indigène sans terre! » 

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

‘Ils ont arraché nos feuilles cassé nos branches couper nos troncs Mais ils ont oublié d’arracher nos racines’ Et aujourd’hui, nous nous battons pour la vie. Ils ne le comprennent toujours pas. Mais c’est vrai que les peuples autochtones sont … Continue reading →

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Treespiracy: Forests are being destroyed against a background of corruption, illegality and apathy! — Palm Oil Detectives

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

The world’s forests are being destroyed against a background of corruption, illegality and apathy. This article was originally published in The Ecologist magazine, 28th March, 2022 A complex web of financial instruments allowing crime, corruption and wrong-doing, hidden behind shell … Continue reading →

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Bispos da Amazônia solicitam ao STF que retome o julgamento sobre demarcações de terras Indígenas — Ecoamazônia

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

O documento foi protocolado junto à Corte na tarde de sexta-feira, 24; nesta semana, indígenas se mobilizaram em todo país pedindo a retomada do julgamento. Diante da situação dos povos indígenas no Brasil, os Bispos Católicos da Amazônia Legal reunidos em … Continue reading →

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LAND BACK NOW! « Land for the Indigenous people has no commercial value, as in the private sense of civil possession. It is a relationship of identity, which includes spirituality and existence, and it is possible to affirm that there is no Indigenous community without land! » 

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

‘They ripped off our leaves broke our branches cut our trunks But they forgot to pull out our roots’ And today we are here fighting for life. They still don’t understand it.  But it is true that Indigenous peoples are … Continue reading →

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