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.

« La Cegadora Hechicería del Oro … Para los más viejos, el oro era solo astillas brillantes en la arena, como la mica. »

« Para los más viejos, el oro era solo astillas brillantes en la arena de los lechos de los ríos, como la mica. Lo recolectaron para hacer una sustancia de brujería diseñada para cegar a las personas con las que … Continue reading →

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« A Cegante Feitiçaria de Ouro … Para os mais velhos, o ouro era apenas lascas brilhantes na areia, como a mica. »

« Para os mais velhos, o ouro era apenas lascas brilhantes na areia dos leitos dos rios, como a mica. Eles coletaram para fazer uma substância de feitiçaria destinada a cegar as pessoas de quem estavam zangados. … Este pó … Continue reading →

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« La Sorcellerie Aveuglante de l’Or … Pour nos aînés, l’or n’était que des flocons brillants sur le sable, comme du mica. »

« Pour nos aînés, l’or n’était que des flocons brillants sur le sable des lits des cours d’eau, comme du mica. Ils l’ont recueilli pour en faire une substance de sorcellerie destinée à aveugler les personnes avec lesquelles ils étaient en … Continue reading →

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« The Blinding Sorcery of Gold … To our elders, gold was just shiny flakes on the sand, like mica »

« To our elders, gold was just shiny flakes on the sand of the forest’s stream beds, like mica. They collected it to make a sorcery substance intended to blind people with whom they were angry. … this metal dust was … Continue reading →

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« Non appena i minatori arrivano a casa nostra … Li ho visti radere al suolo le sorgenti del fiume con l’avidità dei cani affamati. »

“Questo è ciò che dicono i nostri anziani che sono grandi sciamani. Queste sono le parole degli xapiri, che ci trasmettono. Questi sono quelli che voglio che i bianchi ascoltino … Non appena i minatori arrivano a casa nostra … … Continue reading →

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« En cuanto llegan los mineros de oro a nuestra casa… Los vi arrasar los manantiales del río con la codicia de perros hambrientos. »

“Eso es lo que dicen nuestros mayores que son grandes chamanes. Estas son las palabras de los xapiri, que nos transmiten. Estos son los que quiero que escuchen los blancos… En cuanto llegan los mineros a nuestra casa… Untaron los … Continue reading →

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« Assim que os garimpeiros chegarem à nossa casa… Eu os vi devastar as nascentes do rio com a ganância de cães famintos »

“É o que dizem os nossos mais velhos que são grandes xamãs. Estas são as palavras dos xapiri, que nos transmitem. Estas são as que quero que os brancos ouçam.… Assim que os garimpeiros chegarem à nossa casa… Eles sujaram … Continue reading →

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« Une fois que les orpailleurs sont arrivés chez nous… Je les ai vues ravager les sources de la rivière avec l’avidité de chiens affamées. »

“C’est ce que disent nos aînés qui sont de grands chamans. Ce sont les mots des xapiri, qu’ils nous transmettent. Ce sont ceux que je veux que les blancs entendent. … Une fois que les orpailleurs sont arrivés chez nous… … Continue reading →

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« Once the gold miners arrived where we live … I saw them ravage the river’s sources with the avidity of scrawny dogs. »

“This is what our elders who are great shamans say. These are the xapiri’s words, which they pass on to us. These are the ones I want the white people to hear. … Once the gold miners arrived where we … Continue reading →

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Siamo tutti parte della natura e dobbiamo proteggere e amare tutta la natura!

«Anche se tu ed io siamo su barche diverse, tu sulla tua barca e noi sulla nostra canoa, condividiamo lo stesso fiume di vita. Quello che succede a me succede a te. E a valle, a valle in questo fiume … Continue reading →

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