Ironworker Cradleboard in Changing Hands

Native, North American, New

By Lee RosenbaumThis is not your tribal ancestors' child carrier.

On one side, Donald "Babe" Hemlock's "Ironworker Cradleboard" (2011) looks like the cozy abode devised by American Indians to swaddle an infant in fur-lined animal hide adorned with gut fringes. But the image on the front limns the Indians' more precarious 21st-century existence: Painted on the cradle's wood support is a Mohawk ironworker, balancing on one foot atop a construction girder that is vertiginously suspended over Times Square. While his right hand grips the girder, he daringly extends his left arm, as if poised to take a bow in his own bravura Broadway performance, more risky than any stunt in the "Spider-Man" musical advertised on a billboard below.

Expressly created for the Museum of Arts and Design's jarringly contemporary Indian exhibition, "Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 3," Mr. Hemlock's "Cradleboard" embodies the duality of contemporary Indian artists straddling two worlds—the rich history and cultural traditions of their ancestors and the edgy imperatives of contemporary life and modern artistic practice. According to Mr. Hemlock, himself a former ironworker, his two-sided piece "demonstrates the way we maintain balance in our world, while walking in yours, which hasn't always been easy."

This reconciliation of polarities informs most of the 164 objects in this eclectic 84-artist exhibition. Almost everything in "Changing Hands" was created within the past five years; about 25 works were produced for this show, which focuses on Indian art from the southeastern and northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada.Comment:  Both the shape of Ironworker Cradleboard and the image within it evoke the idea of a skateboarder. If there's a comic-book influence, it's more Silver Surfer than Spider-Man. The ironworker's pose and perspective, and the cradleboard's color, all suggest the Surfer.

Since Hemlock included an image of Spidey--for the Spider-Man play on Broadway--he may be familiar with Marvel's other characters. He could be going for a theme of the Mohawk ironworker as a noble, self-sacrificing hero for his people--like the Surfer. The cradleboard would suggest the ironworker is doing it for the children.

For more on Indians and comic-book art, see Veregge's Superhero "Totems" and Indigenous Narratives Collective.

Below:  Ironworker Cradleboard (2011) by Donald 'Babe' Hemlock. (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution/Greg Horn)

Spider-Man pays off for Foxwoods

Foxwoods’ crossover with Spider-Man play paying off

By James MosherSuperheroes need to have thick skins. Spider-Man is proving to have one, fighting off bad luck and negative reviews to post impressive box office numbers and give a boost to his theater patron—Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The musical, “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,” currently running on Broadway, took a series of blows from critics about injured actors and technical difficulties, repeated delays for the official opening of the production, the firing of the director and the cost—a reported whopping $75 million by the time the elaborate show opened June 14.

As these difficulties mounted over several months, one thing remained constant—a reminder that the beleaguered show was being staged at the Foxwoods Theater.

The casino stands by its investment, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler said.

“People can say what they want, but tickets are selling,” said Butler, who attended opening night. “That’s the ultimate gauge of success.”

Now that the show has opened, tickets, each of which has the Foxwoods name printed on it, are selling briskly for up to $140. Recent receipts posted on Playbill.com show “Spider-Man” playing to sold-out audiences. For the week ending June 26, the gross admission take was $1.7 million with an average ticket price of $110.Comment:  For more on the subject, see "Foxwoods Final Five" Advertising Deal and Foxwoods Bets on Spider-Man.

Below:  Reeve Carney and Jennifer Damiano star in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.

Foxwoods bets on Spider-Man

Live Nation and Foxwoods Resort Casino Announce Naming Agreement for New York's Broadway Theatre--"Foxwoods Theatre"

“Foxwoods Theatre” to Host One of Broadway’s Most Anticipated Productions--Spider-Man: Turn Off the DarkFoxwoods Resort Casino, the East Coast’s premier resort casino destination, and Live Nation, the world’s largest live music company, today announced a multi-year agreement that grants Foxwoods the exclusive naming rights to the former Hilton Theatre on Broadway’s historic 42nd Street in New York’s Times Square (originally the Ford Center for the Performing Arts). Beginning today, the venue will be called the Foxwoods Theatre. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Under terms of the agreement, the Foxwoods brand will be incorporated into all exterior and interior venue signage, including the theater’s iconic sign overlooking 42nd Street and in the theater’s VIP Suite and the Dress Circle Lobby. Foxwoods Theatre will feature a unique logo and web domain (www.foxwoodstheatre.com.)

The sponsorship also provides Foxwoods with access to the venue for corporate and philanthropic events and tickets to performances at the theater, most notably to Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, one of the most anticipated Broadway openings of all time. The Foxwoods name will be included on all tickets as well as all elements of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’s extensive advertising campaign.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Foxwoods Logo on Liberty Jerseys and The Facts About Indian Gaming.