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.

¿Corredores que venden tierras indígenas robadas en Facebook? … ¡Solo el escándalo más reciente en una continuación de siglos de saqueo y destrucción!

“Somos habitantes de los bosques y no queremos que nuestra gente muera. ¿Los blancos probablemente piensan que su Dios logrará eliminar del cielo la epidemia de humo de sus fábricas? Están equivocados. ¡El cielo … se está poniendo tan enfermo … Continue reading →

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Corretores que vendem terras indígenas roubadas no Facebook? … Apenas o escândalo mais recente em uma continuação de séculos de pilhagem e destruição!

“Somos habitantes da floresta e não queremos que nosso povo morra. Os brancos provavelmente pensam que seu Deus conseguirá remover do céu a epidemia de fumaça de suas fábricas? Eles estão errados. O céu … está ficando tão doente quanto … Continue reading →

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Des courtiers vendant des terres indigènes volées sur Facebook? …le plus récent scandale dans la continuité des siècles de pillage et de destruction!

“Nous sommes des habitants de la forêt et nous ne voulons pas que notre peuple meure. Les Blancs pensent probablement que leur Dieu parviendra à faire disparaître du ciel l’épidémie de fumée de leurs usines? Ils ont tort. Le ciel… … Continue reading →

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Brokers Selling Stolen Indigenous Land on Facebook?…just the most recent outrage in the continuity of centuries of plunder and destruction!

« We are inhabitants of the forest, and we do not want our people to die. The white people probably think that their God will manage to make the epidemic smoke from their factories disappear from the sky? They are wrong. … Continue reading →

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Gli Yanomami, includono bambini piccoli, stanno morendo a causa del Covid-19 diffuso dai minatori d’oro!

« Ora sappiamo da dove provengono questi cattivi fumi. È fumo metallico, fumo epidemico ed è davvero il nostro nemico. In passato, queste cose brutte sono rimaste sepolte ei nostri antenati non erano costantemente malati come lo siamo noi oggi. Eppure, … Continue reading →

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¡Los Yanomami, ahora niños pequeños, están muriendo a causa del Covid-19 propagado por los mineros de oro!

« Ahora sabemos de dónde provienen estos humos dañinos. Es humo metálico, humo epidémico y es realmente nuestro enemigo. En el pasado, estas cosas malas estaban enterradas y nuestros antepasados ​​no estaban constantemente enfermos como lo estamos hoy. Aun así, en … Continue reading →

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Os Yanomami, agora crianças pequenas, estão morrendo de Covid-19 espalhada pelos garimpeiros!

« Agora sabemos de onde vêm esses gases nocivos. É fumaça metálica, fumaça epidêmica e é realmente nosso inimigo. No passado, essas coisas ruins eram enterradas e nossos ancestrais não ficavam constantemente doentes como estamos hoje. Mesmo assim, na sua ignorância, … Continue reading →

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Les Yanomami, y compris maintenant de jeunes enfants, meurent du Covid-19 propagé par des orpailleurs!

« Maintenant, nous savons d’où viennent ces mauvaises émanations. C’est la fumée métallique, la fumée épidémique, et c’est vraiment notre ennemi. Dans le passé, ces mauvaises choses restaient enterrées et nos ancêtres n’étaient pas constamment malades comme nous le sommes … Continue reading →

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Yanomami, now including young children, are dying of Covid-19 propagated by Gold Miners!

« Now we know where these evil fumes come from. It is the metal smoke, the epidemic smoke, and it is truly our enemy. In the past, these evil things remained buried, and our ancestors were not constantly sick the way … Continue reading →

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Cosa consideri “offensivo”? – aggiornato

« I minatori d’oro scavano dappertutto come cinghiali. I fiumi della foresta saranno presto nient’altro che vortici sporco pieni di fango, olio motore e spazzatura. Inoltre lavano la loro polvere d’oro in flussi, mescolandola con il mercurio. Tutte queste cose sporche … Continue reading →

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