Author Archives: Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

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.

13 Reasons Why You Should Boycott Gold For The Yanomami People — Palm Oil Detectives — Tiny Life

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Hunger for Gold in the Global North is fueling a living hell in the Global South. Here are 20 reasons why you should #BoycottGold4Yanomami 13 Reasons Why You Should Boycott Gold For The Yanomami People — Palm Oil Detectives 13 Reasons Why … Continue reading →

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International Week of Action to Defund Coastal GasLink! — Ned Hamson’s Second Line View of the News

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Originally posted on LANDBACK Friends: Join the International Week of Action to Defund Coastal GasLink starting December 20 Toolkit: 20 December Week of Action to #DefundCoastalGasLink.This toolkit is for grassroots activists wishing to take part in the week of action … Continue reading →

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Un voyage vraiment magique – « La Magie de l’Amazonie Les aventures de Meromi, une fille Yanomami »

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Le deuxième volume de la série Amazon Rainforest Magic raconte le voyage surprenant de Meromi, une fille Yanomami qui est entraînée dans une aventure inattendue dans les rivières et les jungles de l’Amazonie. C’est un voyage vraiment magique pour Meromi … Continue reading →

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« The Value of the Gold they covet so much – Our real goods are the things of the forest: its waters, fish, game, trees and fruit. Not merchandise! » — Cerulean Seasons

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro: Yanomami boy with pet monkey, Alto Orinoco, Amazonas, Venezuela. photo – Barbara Crane Navar «?When a human being dies, his ghost does not carry any of his goods onto the sky’s back, even if … Continue reading →