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.

S’IL VOUS PLAÎT,  ÉCOUTER LE MESSAGE DU CHAMAN YANOMAMI – LE PLAIDOYER DE LA FORÊT TROPICALE ! Et découvrez comment nous pouvons aider les peuples Indigènes !

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

photo: Renato Soares « Hey – Regardez nous Nous vous voyons Nous avons essayé de vous montrer Vous n’avez jamais pris la peine d’apprendre notre langue Vous regardiez toujours vers le bas Nous vous prévenons depuis le début a terre … Continue reading →

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« Nossos espíritos xapiri estão muito preocupados em ver a terra virar fantasma » — Mágica Mistura

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

Publicado originalmente em Barbara Crane Navarro: «Nossa floresta ainda é linda … enraizada no centro do céu antigo.Além da floresta, o território dos brancos que nos cerca é constituído apenas de terras feridas de onde vêm os fumos epidêmicos … … Continue reading →

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PLEASE LISTEN TO THE YANOMAMI SHAMAN’S MESSAGE – THE PLEA OF THE RAINFOREST! – And discover how we can help Indigenous peoples!

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

photo: Renato Soares « Hey – Look at me We see you We tried to show you You never bothered to learn our language You were always looking down We’ve been warning you since the beginning The land is alive … Continue reading →

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DR Congo’s Forests-for-Oil Sale Reeks of Neocolonialism! — HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

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

Human Wrongs Watch By Mbong Akiy Fokwa Tsafack | Greenpeace*  19 August 2022 – Forests are losing out to fossil fuels and foreign finance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On July 28, the country’s government auctioned 27 … Continue reading →

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La Terra e le popolazioni Indigene stanno morendo per la nostra ossessione per l’oro! Per favori, Scegli il diritto alla vita rispetto ai profitti in oro e vanità!

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

foto: Barrick Gold Corporation L’oro è una reliquia coloniale che dobbiamo riconoscere con urgenza come essenzialmente priva di valore: la deforestazione, l’inquinamento e gli impatti catastrofici sull’acqua, sulla fauna selvatica e sulle comunità indigene sono principalmente per gioielli e prodotti … Continue reading →

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

Posted on July 11, 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 →

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¡La Tierra y los pueblos Indigenas se están muriendo por nuestra obsesión por el oro! Por favor, ¡Elige el derecho a la vida sobre las ganancias del oro y vanidad!

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

foto: Barrick Gold Corporation El oro es una reliquia colonial que debemos reconocer urgentemente como esencialmente sin valor: la deforestación, la contaminación y los impactos catastróficos en el agua, la vida silvestre y las comunidades indígenas son en su mayoría … Continue reading →

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The Bloody Secret Behind Lab-Grown Meat! — Mother Jones

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Lab meat—flesh grown in massive tanks instead of in the bodies of sentient animals—offers the promise of having our steak and eating it guilt-free, too. No vast amounts of… 721 more words The Bloody Secret Behind Lab-Grown Meat — Mother Jones

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A Terra e os povos Indígenas estão morrendo por nossa obsessão pelo ouro! Por favor, Escolha o direito à vida sobre os lucros do ouro e vaidade!

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

foto: Barrick Gold Corporation O ouro é uma relíquia colonial que devemos reconhecer com urgência como essencialmente sem valor – desmatamento, poluição e impactos catastróficos na água, na vida selvagem e nas comunidades indígenas são principalmente para joias e produtos … Continue reading →

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Comforting Thought: Mitákuye Oyás — Content Catnip

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

“The phase Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ comes from the Lakota language and was part of the language of resistance used in the Standing Rock demonstration. Translated to English it roughly means ‘All my relations.’ “During prayers and meetings at Standing Rock, the … Continue reading →

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