Ed Vessel - The Importance of Art in Education

Ed Vessel is part of the New York University ArtLab. This lab places a focuses on understanding how people derive pleasure and inspiration from art forms and how this may relate to learning, motivation, and well being. The consumption of information public school deems important and the overall process of learning is one that is ever evolving in an attempt to make it more stimulating and enjoyable for the student. Marshall McLuhan and Ed Vessel are in agreement when citing the importance of art in learning: "We have now become aware of the possibility of arranging the entire human environment as a work of art, as a teaching machine designed to maximize perception and to make everyday learning a process of discovery (McLuhan, 67)." These very words inspire the work we see Ed Vessel doing at NYU today. It is to our advantage as humans to make education and learning both appealing and exhilarating. For too long has learning been tied to 'boring'. "Learning, the educational process, has long been associated only with the glum (McLuhan, 10)."  There is a lot to benefit from when education is stimulating, we must tip our hat to McLuhan for acknowledging this, and to Ed Vessel for actively pursuing it.