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.

EXTENDIDA – LA EXPOSICIÓN – “Pas de Cartier !” – Los Yanomami y los árboles – Oro minero y oro de lujo / COVID-19 difundido por Mineros de oro… prorrogado hasta el 12 de noviembre 2021

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
https://barbara-navarro.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/aaaa-1-shaman-3.jpg “Los chamanes Yanomami luchan contra xawara – el humo de las epidemias”instalación – técnica mixtaBarbara Crane Navarro? “Los chamanes Yanomami que luchan contra la epidemia de xawara ven aparecer la imagen de la…

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A EXPOSIÇÃO ESTÁ ESTENDIDA – “Pas de Cartier!” – Os Yanomami e as árvores – Mineração de ouro e ouro de luxo / COVID-19 disseminada pelos garimpeiros … estendida até 12 de novembro 2021

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
https://barbara-navarro.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/aaaa-1-shaman-2.jpg “Xamãs Yanomami lutam contra xawara – a fumaça das epidemias”instalação – mídia mistaBarbara Crane Navarro “Os xamãs Yanomami que lutam contra a epidemia de xawara veem a imagem da doença aparecer forma de…

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L’EXPOSITION EST PROLONGÉE “Pas de Cartier !” – Les Yanomami et les arbres – Extraction d’or et articles de luxe en or / COVID-19 propagé par les mineurs d’or…jusqu’au 12 novembre 2021

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
https://barbara-navarro.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/aaaa-1-shaman-1.jpg “Les chamans Yanomami luttent contre le xawara – la fumée des épidémies”installation – technique mixteBarbara Crane Navarro “Les chamans Yanomami qui combattent l’épidémie de xawara voient l’image de la maladie apparaître sous la…

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THE EXHIBITION IS PROLONGED – “Pas de Cartier !” – Yanomami and Trees – Gold Mining and Gold Luxury items / COVID-19 propagated by Gold Miners…now through November 12th 2021

Originally posted on Barbara Crane Navarro:
https://barbara-navarro.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/aaaa-1-shaman.jpg “Yanomami shamans struggle against?xawara?– smoke of epidemics”?installation – mixed mediaBarbara Crane Navarro “The Yanomami shamans who fight the xawara epidemic see the disease’s image appear in the form of strips of scarlet fabric.…

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Il Fumo Dorato delle Epidemie – oru a wakëxi – e gli sforzi di sciamani e xapiri per distruggerla falliscono …

“I miniere d’oro sono diventati molto numerosi nei nostri altipiani forestali, distruggendo le sorgenti del fiume e uccidendo i suoi abitanti con le loro malattie. I minatori d’oro sono mangiatori di terra, esseri malvagi! La loro mente è vuota e … Continue reading →

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El Humo Dorado de las Epidemias – oru a wakëxi – y los esfuerzos de los chamanes y xapiri para destruirla fracasan …

“Los mineros de oro se han vuelto muy numerosos en nuestras tierras altas del bosque, destruyendo los manantiales del río y matando a sus habitantes con sus enfermedades. ¡Los mineros de oro son devoradores de tierra, seres malvados! ¡Su mente … Continue reading →

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A Fumaça Dourada das Epidemias – oru a wakëxi – e os esforços dos xamãs e xapiri para destruí-la fracassam …

“Os garimpeiros se tornaram muito numerosos em nossas terras altas da floresta, destruindo as nascentes do rio e matando seus habitantes com suas doenças. Os mineiros de ouro são comedores de terra, seres malignos! Sua mente está vazia e eles … Continue reading →

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La Fumée d’Or des épidémies – oru a wakëxi – et les efforts des chamans et xapiri pour la détruire restent vains …

“Les chercheurs d’or sont devenus très nombreux dans nos hautes terres forestières, détruisant les sources du fleuve et tuant leurs habitants de leurs maladies. Les mineurs d’or sont des mangeurs de terre, des êtres pervers! Leur pensée est vide et … Continue reading →

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The Gold Smoke of Epidemics – oru a wakëxi – the shamans’ and the xapiri’s efforts to destroy it remain in vain …

“The gold prospectors became very many in our forest highlands, destroying the river’s headwaters and killing their inhabitants with their diseases. The gold miners are earth-eaters, evil beings! Their thought is empty and they are full of epidemic smoke! We … Continue reading →

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« Amore per le Merci: il Valore che i *bianchi danno all’Oro che desiderano così tanto »

foto: Yanomami: trasformazione sciamanica – Barbara Crane Navarro « Oggi non sono rimasti molti grandi sciamani nella nostra foresta. Il fumo dorato delle epidemie lo svuotò quasi completamente. I nostri genitori e nonni non si fidavano dei bianchi e hanno sempre … Continue reading →

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