This portrait of Mount Scott Kiowa women with a baby in
the cradle is part of the “Gifts of Pride and Love: The
Cultural Significance of Kiowa and Comanche Lattice Cradles”
exhibit at the Fowler Museum.
By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Most people don’t pay any mind to baby carriages once they
master the art of walking. The Fowler Museum, however, pays a lot
of attention to carriages, enough to run two simultaneous
exhibitions on cradles, carriages and bassinets.
“Keep Me Safe, Keep Me Warm” explores the history of
baby carrying devices, while “Gifts of Pride and Love,”
narrows its scope to focus on the symbolic role of cradles in the
Kiowa and Comanche societies of North America.
With a soothing lullaby humming over the sound system,
“Keep Me Safe, Keep Me Warm” is aptly named,
communicating a sense of motherly devotion to the viewer. The show
unites eclectic baby carrying devices from around the globe into
one unique exhibit, featuring both the strange and the mundane.
 Shown here is Lois Smoky in a cradle in
1904. Lois Smoky was the daughter and grand
daughter of excellent craftswomen. Wealthy Indian parents of the
last century, for instance, sought to impress their neighbors with
conspicuous and expensive baby carriages, imported from England.
Less gaudy but no less functional, a simple strip of bark suffices
for the Tiwaeno peoples of Ecuador cradle.
The curious viewer will marvel at the myriad ways that people
have transported their progeny throughout the ages. Often, the
wisdom of parents from past times contrasts sharply with beliefs
prevalent in this day and age.
While today’s parent might be horrified at the thought of
their young being surrounded by anything other than the very
softest of pillows, the Seri peoples of Sonora, Mexico thought
nothing of strapping their babies to a stiff wooden cradleboard.
And while modern parents might remove all vaguely threatening
objects from their child’s room for fear of nightmares, the
Bahau Dayak people of East Kalimantan, Borneo, ornament their baby
carriers with grotesque, bug-eyed monsters known as udoq.
Contrary to modern notions of how a monster ought to behave,
however, the udoq was a benevolent guardian, protecting the
sleeping baby from all nocturnal dangers.
Modern innovations in baby carrying technology are also on
display; everything from car seats to walkers. An engineering feat
surely unparalleled by anything outside of a science fiction
fantasy, the Evenflo Supersaucer Entertainment Center/Walker
provides hours of entertainment, allowing the child to trundle
around while living in a life-sized busybox. It’s a far cry
from the simplicity of the exhibit’s more traditional
childhood paraphernalia.
Leaving no aspect of child carrying untouched, a shopping cart
child’s seat is also on display, for no apparent reason,
suspended from the ceiling.
Contradicting the otherwise uniformly cheerful ambience of the
exhibit, a “neonatal incubator/isolette by air
shields,” a machine for keeping premature infants warm, is on
display. At first, the clinical device seems out of place among the
cozy cribs and cradles, but, in retrospect, its inclusion makes
perfect sense. Stripped of all its medical connotations, it does,
after all, ultimately serve the same purpose as the other display
items, to keep babies warm.
While “Keep Me Safe, Keep Me Warm” looks at cradles
around the world, “Gifts of Pride and Love” focuses on
Kiowa and Comanche Lattice Cradles.
“Gifts of Pride and Love” is a traveling exhibition
organized by the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown
University, and the descendants of Kiowa and Comanche cradle-making
families.
Brightly colored lattice cradles serve as a symbolic tie to the
past, a reminder of the rich cultural heritage to many people of
Kiowa or Comanche descent. Resembling nothing more than a backpack
attached to a pair of skis, the lattice cradle consists of hide or
canvas stretched over rawhide supports and laced to two narrow
pointed boards.
Kiowa cradles are often decorated with beads, while Comanche
cradles often have paint or tack decoration on their boards.
A special display with the exhibit, set up to resemble a wooden
bungalow, contains a looped video documentary that explains the
nostalgic significance of the cradle craft through the personal
stories of several cradle makers.
In addition, many of the beaded cradles on display are
accompanied by plaques with the biographies of their makers.
Celebrated cradle artists like Richard Aitson and Alma Big Tree
Ahote are among those featured.
Some artists chose to incorporate traditional cradle motifs into
modern artforms: Teri Greeves’ display, for instance,
contains a pair of sneakers, covered in the blue and red beads
often seen on the Kiowa lattice cradles.
Despite the wildly different styles of construction, all of the
items in the two displays ultimately serve the same purpose, to
hold babies tight and keep them safe.
The two exhibits complement each other well, and the artifacts
effectively communicate a pleasant aura of security and well-being.
A moving testament to the universal love between parents and
children, “Gifts of Pride and Love” and “Keep Me
Safe, Keep Me Warm” will touch even the most jaded
viewer.
ART: Both “Keep Me Safe, Keep Me Warm” and
“Gifts of Pride and Love” run through Jan.14, 2001. The
Fowler Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. and
Thursday until 8 p.m. The museum is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, $1 for UCLA students
with student ID. For more information, call (310) 825-4361.