The formal Bauhaus period was reflecting a colorful and geometric style. Peter Keler’s
cradle is a famous example of this movement. Keler designed this piece in 1922. It is a
furniture which was formed to become a bed design for man, woman and child. The
rectangular head and feet sections were man’s parts and semi circles were woman’s
sections. This cradle for children was a combination of male and female forms. Keler’s
piece is saying that art shouldn’t be something decorating products but specific forms
and color schemes should create a whole look. The cradle demonstrates the beginning
of a new style in terms of design. It shows a straightforward and clear structure with
basic geometrical shapes and colors. The effortlessness of this cradle and the regard to
the shape and colors used, adds to the fundamental liveliness of the design. Due to its
colors, it can be seen as a 3D version of Kandinsky’s association between color and
shape. Wassily Kandinsky was one of the leaders of the Bauhaus artistic movement. He
was giving preliminary courses about this subject in the German Design School and
Peter Keler was one of his students. This design is an expression of the Bauhaus
transition where artistic forms and color schemes can be represented as a cohesive
whole.
- It’s original colors are blue, yellow, red and white.
- Lacquered, wickerwork of natural cane wickerwork, steel pipe laquered.
- Diameter: 91 cm
- Depth: 98 cm
This cradle design always reminded me of a newspaper or magazine rack. So, starting
from this idea, I decided to redesign the cradle as an everyday object which can be easily
displayed in the living room decorations of our times. I designed this newspaper rack
using Peter Keler’s Cradle as the main source of inspiration. I didn’t want to change its
form a lot because it was already looking like a modern newspaper rack. I decided to
change its color combinations because I wanted my new design to be able to apply in
various interior decorations. The cradle’s original colors were so bold which would limit
my newspaper rack’s appearance in possible decorations. I chose brown, burgundy and
grey which are creating a coherent look while reflecting the modernistic approaches of
the period we’re living in.
I also wanted to show you an example of my redesign in a real life situation. So, I did
this Photoshop mash up of a living room interior which includes the new newspaper
rack designed with the influence of “The Cradle”.
