Hugo Kükelhaus
Hugo Kükelhaus ( born March 24, 1900 in Essen, † October 5, 1984 in Herrischried ) was a German carpenter, artist and educator. Hugo Kükelhaus was known especially for the development of his field of experience for developing the senses. In publications and lectures, he has his life spread " contemporary man " his ideas of a living environment. In addition, he is considered a pioneer for small child 's toy.
Life
Childhood, Youth and Education
Hugo Kükelhaus grew up as the oldest of five children with his brother Heinz, the sisters Freya and Hilde and the stragglers Hermann in a home that is related to crafts, in close connection. His father was chairman of the Essenes Carpenters Association and is involved in the reorganization of the professional self-governing body of the German craft. 1919 Hugo put Kükelhaus the humanistic High School in Essen from, made a carpentry apprenticeship in Bielefeld and migrated as a journeyman by Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States. In 1925 he received from the Chamber of Crafts Arnsberg degree of master of the carpentry. In the following years he studied at the universities of Heidelberg, Münster and Königsberg sociology, philosophy, mathematics / logic and physiology.
Authorship
The close link between theory and practice runs through the entire life work of Kükelhaus. In 1932 he published his first book, The Law of the level measurement, in which he outlines how furniture can be built according to people with the golden section and developed it " canon characters ". In 1934 he published his major work Urzahl and gesture, a study of the figures as a psychological and physiological basis of existence.
Many other publications followed. This left Kükelhaus the craft connected in various ways: In 1931, he took over after his father's death the editor of the journal The carpenters union and supervised them intermittently until 1956 From 1934 Kükelhaus was as an employee of the Alfred Metzner Verlag in Berlin publisher of the series fonts. for German craftsmanship (1935 ff) and German Silo (1939 ff), an information service about exemplary designed craft and industrial commodities. He organized exhibitions, lectured and led training sessions. At the same time he worked as a freelance writer and designer.
During National Socialism
His critique of the production of kitsch and industrially manufactured mass furniture to the Kükelhaus led near as popular issuing Nazi ideology and led him to the above-mentioned cooperation with the regime was. Later he will change his attitude to NS and have excelled " in close conjunction with Fritz Dietlof Graf von der Schulenburg " as an active member of the resistance groups.
Designer
From the examination of the Froebel game gifts and in dialogue with the Froebel researcher Erika Hoffmann emerged from 1939, the " Allbedeut " toys, Teething Toys for toddlers whose meaning was later supported mainly by the developmental psychology of Jean Piaget.
In 1950 Kükelhaus a teaching position at the factory school in Münster (now College of Design) on. From 1954, he was only freelancing: as a furniture designer, illustrator, glass artist and sculptor, as an employee in the design and interior architectural features of sacral and secular buildings. He settled in the medieval town of Soest.
Critics misanthropic Architecture
From about 1960 Kükelhaus intensified his studies and experimental studies carried out over the senses processes. Thus he became convinced that the man of modern technological civilization itself increasingly deprived of basic sensory development and experience opportunities. He criticized his opinion always hostile -talking tendencies in modern architecture of the 70s and developed basic lines of " organ- logical " construction. He was working on all areas of life to plan the environment and developed so that it corresponds to the " functional conditions of the human organism." This dispute culminated in the publication Inhuman Architecture ( 1973) and in consultation and artistic collaboration in the sense of " legal organ architecture" in the construction of schools, kindergartens and industrial plants.
Field of experience for developing the senses
Became internationally known through his Kükelhaus experimental field of organ experience, whose first game and experience devices, the Natural History plaything, he showed to the World Exhibition in Montreal in the German Pavilion first 1967. In 1975 the first presentation of the field of experience for developing the senses more developed experimental field at the International Trade Exhibition EXEMPLA in Munich. Then wandered the in the meantime grown to about 40 experimental and game stations experience field to numerous locations at home and abroad. The featured stations to offer visitors the ability to vegetatively immediately perceive the universal regularities of their physical existence, by experiencing the legality of the " external nature " ( vibration, gravity, polarity, reflection, etc.) on their own bodies. In dealing with the devices, the allegedly often stunted abilities of humans to sense perception to revive.
On October 5, 1984 Hugo Kükelhaus died in Herrischried ( Southern Black Forest ); his tomb is located in Mustin ( in Ratzeburg ).
Discount
The holistic concept of Hugo Kükelhaus for a large open-air exhibition in 1984 in Zurich was not implemented. Instead, a large exhibition Phenomena has been realized, which was more dedicated to the scientific knowledge. This exhibition was shown in 1989 in Bietigheim among others in 1985 in Rotterdam, in South Africa as well. Since the mid- 90s also arise increasingly fixed fields of experience.
In 1988, the transfer of the estate to the city archives of the city of Soest. From 1988 to 1992 the estate was managed to open up under a specific " job Kükelhaus " since 1993 eV from the Hugo Kükelhaus society and maintained by the Foundation Kükelhaus Soest. Another part of the estate is kept as " Hugo Kükelhaus Foundation " in Switzerland in the "Cultural Lützelflüh ".
Quote
Works
- The law of plane measure. Self- Verlag, Essen 1932
- Urzahl and gesture. Outlines of a coming Maßbewußtseins. Metzner, Berlin 1934 Reprint: Velcro and Balmer, train 1984, ISBN 3-264-90200-1
- Reprint: Velcro and Balmer, train 1994, ISBN 3-264-83070-1
- New edition, ed. v. Barbara Bird Kükelhaus: Rittersche, Soest 2000, ISBN 3-9801714-5-0
- New edition ( with an additional foreword by Frederic Vester ): S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1979 New edition: Hugo Kükelhaus society, Soest 2006, ISBN 3-9805003-3-0