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.

Brazil – Investor Alert: Belo Sun Discloses Misleading Information to Investors Regarding Controversial Canadian Gold Mining Project in Brazilian Amazon!

Posted on March 8, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Source: Amazon Watch – Earthworks – Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) – Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) – International Rivers – MiningWatch Canada – Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre ≠ Rede Xingu+ (Ottawa) In a letter of concern to the Ontario Securities Commission, … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 5 – « The Forest is Burning – Art Installation » 5:22

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Forest is Burning – Art Installation » alternates scenes from the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures at the art space La Miroiterie in Paris with the « Fire Performance » burning of another of my totemic sculptures in … Continue reading →

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Reportagem da Pública revela a íntima relação entre narcotráfico e extração ilegal de madeira na Amazônia!

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Pesquisadores e policiais apontam uso crescente de cargas de origem florestal na exportação de drogas — madeira de crime ambiental é hoje uma das principais “maquiagens” Por Ciro Barros para a Agência Pública Os produtos florestais, frequentemente oriundos de crimes … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 4 – « Fire Sculpture Performance at the Mairie du 2ème, Paris, France » 4:18

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Fire Sculpture Performance at the Mairie du 2ème, Paris, France » alternates scenes from the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures during the collective art exhibition at the Mairie de 2ème, Paris, France – in support of the Indigenous … Continue reading →

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Indigenous militias are fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon! – Vox.com

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Indigenous militias are fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon – Vox.com https://ift.tt/3zFNRpC Indigenous militias are fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon  Vox.com Superforest via “deforestation” – Google News https://ift.tt/2tI2HiE Indigenous militias are fighting to save the Brazilian Amazon – Vox.com —

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 3 – « Washington – Amazon » 3:44

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Washington – Amazon » alternates scenes from two art installations of my paintings and totemic sculptures in Washington D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, USA, with the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures in the Yanomami village of Arata-Teri in the … Continue reading →

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Os pulmões doentes da Amazônia!

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A região amazônica “tombou” devido ao desmatamento desenfreado. Agora ele emite mais dióxido de carbono do que absorve. Isso já está tendo efeitos devastadores Desmatamento colossal, monoculturas, secas, incêndios. A floresta amazônica está gravemente ameaçada (rebanho de gado durante um incêndio florestal na … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 2 – « The Fire Sculpture » 2:26

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Fire Sculpture » alternates scenes of the « Fire Performance » burning of one of my totemic sculptures at Le Chaufferie in St. Maurice, France, with scenes of Yanomami daily life in their forest and village and the « Fire Performance » burning of … Continue reading →

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Still Happening: Policy, drought and fires combine to affect biodiversity in the Amazon basin – Nature.com

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Policy, drought and fires combine to affect biodiversity in the Amazon basin – Nature.com https://ift.tt/3kICSW9 Policy, drought and fires combine to affect biodiversity in the Amazon basin  Nature.com Superforest via “deforestation” – Google News https://ift.tt/2tI2HiE Policy, drought and fires combine to affect … Continue reading →

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The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 1 – « The Way of the Shaman » 2:40

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« The Way of the Shaman » alternates scenes from an art installation of my paintings and totemic sculptures at the Eyedrum Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with scenes of Yanomami shamanic initiation and daily life in the forest and the village. … Continue reading →

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