Author Archives: Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Unknown's avatar

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.

LAND BACK NOW! « Land for the Indigenous people has no commercial value, as in the private sense of civil possession. It is a relationship of identity, which includes spirituality and existence, and it is possible to affirm that there is no Indigenous community without land! » 

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« ‘They ripped off our leaves broke our branches cut our trunks But they forgot to pull out our roots’ And today we are here fighting for life. They still don’t understand it.  But it is true that Indigenous peoples … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Did you know that gold kills Indigenous people and rare animals? Gold mining kills Indigenous peoples throughout the world like the Yanomami people of Brazil and Venezuela! – Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 10 – « Yanomami children and their community in the Amazon Rainforest » 13:16

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A film of instants of daily life of a Yanomami community in the Amazon Rainforest of Venezuela made to accompany the children’s book series: “Amazon Rainforest Magic” “La Magie de l’Amazonie” and “La Magia de la Amazonia” for ages 8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Ils font danser leurs puissants esprits pour la protéger 🦉 — JEREMIKARUS — Barbara Crane Navarro — Tiny Life

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« A única razão pela qual a floresta ainda não está se transformando no caos é que alguns grandes xamãs ainda estão fazendo seus espíritos poderosos dançarem para protegê-la » — Barbara Crane Navarro — Tiny Life «La seule raison pour laquelle la … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 9 – « Yanomami boy’s surprise friend in the jungle! » :38 seconds of Magic!

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Sometimes we miss the most beautiful moments-DON’T MISS THIS ONE!With Namowë, a Yanomami boy in the Alto Orinoco region, Amazonas, Venezuela in his canoe! It’s an excerpt of my film of instants of the daily life of a Yanomami community … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Education Is a Key Lifeline for World’s Forests! — HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Human Wrongs Watch New survey points out that forest education must be strengthened to meet global challenges Forestry education needs to be improved, according to new survey. ROME, 24 June 2021 (FAO)* – Forest education at all levels – from … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 8 – « Totemic Light Sculptures II – Yanomami shamanic chants – Mixed media art installation » 1:19

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Yanomami shaman struggle against xawara – the smoke of epidemics – art installation with sounds of many Yanomami shaman chanting to protect the community! The Yanomami shaman who fight the xawara epidemic diseases see their image appear in the form … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Monkey minds: what we can learn from primate personality — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Carla Litchfield, University of South Australia Every human is different. Some are outgoing, while others are reserved and shy. Some are focused and diligent, while others are haphazard and unfussed. Some people are curious, others avoid novelty and enjoy their … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples and Wildlife in Peril! – a series of short films by Barbara Crane Navarro – 7 – « Totemic Light Sculptures – Yanomami shamanic chants – Mixed media art installation I » :49

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Yanomami shaman struggle against xawara – the smoke of epidemics – art installation with sounds of many Yanomami shaman chanting to protect the community! The Yanomami shaman who fight the xawara epidemic diseases see their image appear in the form … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Setting Our Stories Straight: Dismantling Settler Theology — Matthew Root

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

A few months ago, I quite unintentionally began a deep-dive in reading Indigenous writers. Around the same time, a good friend and I started talking about the 94 Calls to Action from the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment