Experience Field for the Development of the Senses: Hugo Kükelhaus’ Phenomenology of Consciousness

This article (re)introduces the pedagogy of the German artist Hugo Kükelhaus (1900–84) whose interest in the psycho-physiological substratum of learning led to theoretically and experimentally accomplished investigations of the conscious experience. Kükelhaus’ most well-known infant toy productions of the 1930s, the Allbedeut, and the ‘Experience Field for the Senses’ of the 1960s serve here as illustrations of the significance of his ideas to contemporary theories of intelligence; educational technology; and the design of learning environments. I examine some of the issues surrounding the conceptualization, realization and critical reception of these inventions. The article concludes that Kükelhaus’ approach to the apparent contradiction of the sensuous idea offers practical and philosophical directions for the development of integrative, heuristic and archetypal tools and learning environments.