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.

« Seule la forêt est un bien précieux »

« Mais les blancs sont d’autres personnes que nous. Leur pensée reste constamment attachée à leur marchandise. Ils le font sans relâche et désirent toujours de nouveaux produits. Ils s’entretuent déjà constamment pour de l’argent dans leurs villes et se … Continue reading →

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« Only the forest is a precious good »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«?But the white people are other people than us. Their thought remains constantly attached to their merchandise. They make it relentlessly and always desire new goods. They are already constantly killing each other for…

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« Dobbiamo proteggere le foreste per coloro che non possono parlare da soli come uccelli, animali, pesci e alberi. Dobbiamo proteggere le foreste per i nostri figli, nipoti e nascituri. »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
« Non vedo una delegazione a quattro zampe. Non vedo un posto per le aquile. Ci dimentichiamo e ci consideriamo superiori. Ma, dopotutto, siamo solo una parte della creazione. E dobbiamo considerare questo per…

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Algumas das mais de 3.000 espécies de animais e plantas ameaçadas no Brasil — Mágica Mistura✨

No Brasil, o país com a maior biodiversidade do mundo, a ameaça principal é a ação humana, pela destruição do habitat natural das espécies, devido a fatores como a ocupação intensiva, habitacional ou agrícola, poluição e outros, pondo em risco … Continue reading →

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« Necesitamos proteger los bosques para aquellos que no pueden hablar por sí mismos como pájaros, animales, peces y árboles. Necesitamos proteger los bosques para nuestros hijos, nietos y niños que aún no han nacido. »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«No veo delegación de cuatro patas. No veo un asiento para las águilas. Nos olvidamos y nos consideramos superiores. Pero, después de todo, somos solo una parte de la creación. Y tenemos que considerar…

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« Precisamos proteger as florestas para aqueles que não podem falar por si como pássaros, animais, peixes e árvores. Precisamos proteger as florestas para nossos filhos, netos e crianças que ainda não nasceram. »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«?Não vejo delegação para quatro patas. Não vejo um assento para as águias. Esquecemos e nos consideramos superiores. Mas, afinal, somos apenas parte da criação. E temos que considerar isso para entender onde estamos.…

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« Nous devons protéger les forêts pour ceux qui ne peuvent pas parler pour eux-mêmes comme les oiseaux, les animaux, les poissons et les arbres. Nous devons protéger les forêts pour nos enfants, petits-enfants et enfants à naître. »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
« Je ne vois pas de délégation pour les quatre pattes. Je ne vois pas de siège pour les aigles. Nous oublions et nous nous considérons supérieurs. Mais nous ne sommes après tout qu’une…

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« We must protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees. We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. »

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«?I do not see a delegation for the Four Footed. I see no seat for the Eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior. But we are after all a mere part of Creation.…

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« l’amore per le merci » la foresta sventrata dai cercatori d’oro che priva la vita delle popolazioni indigene del suo nucleo essenziale!

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«?Sono i bianchi che guadagnano e accumulano merce! Il loro pensiero è così attaccato ad esso che se lo danneggiano mentre splende ancora, sono così furiosi che piangono! Sono davvero innamorati di questo!Quindi sognano…

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« El amor a los mercancías » ¡El bosque destripado por los mineros de oro que priva a la vida de los pueblos indígenas de su núcleo esencial!

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
«?¡Son los blancos los que ganan y acumulan mercancías! Su pensamiento está tan apegado a él que si lo dañan mientras aún está brillando, ¡están tan furiosos que lloran! ¡Están realmente enamorados de esto!Entonces,…

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