Press "Enter" to skip to content

The Renaissance Child | Micyra Cohen | TEDxMaysHighSchool


I am a renaissance child well as a
matter of fact I am a Renaissance woman
on this side is a is a bitch
I created my junior year of high school
in engineering class you know nice
sturdy but on this side is a painting I
did about a few weeks ago the moon was
so so vivid it was it was waxing and I
was like I gotta capture this moment I
got to so here it is today for what
entering into high school I was
conflicted on what I wanted to do what I
wanted to be an engineer or artist and
on top of that I had so many so many
sayings I don’t even know the college
just saying just voices in my head oh
you should be an engineer that’s where
the money is
that’s what’s booming oh you should be
an artist you know that’s your passion
you can do it and I was just I’m so
conflicted I don’t know what to do but I
made a stance for myself and I chose
both engineering and art um about a
about a month ago I would say I had a
means classmate and I we had a
discussion on arts purpose in steam and
in the classmate that I was talking with
he was he was saying Oh
art doesn’t belong how does it relate to
science or technology or engineering or
even mathematics and he just kept saying
oh it doesn’t belong
what’s his purpose so I came up and I
was like look here it was it was some
posters in the in a room and I was look
at his poster it’s a it’s a work of art
yes texture has color it it attracts
your eye and then I was saying what
about it being what about what about a
BMW antibody finna be paying $100,000
for no ugly car
and then I went back I was thinking
about the Egyptians how they created
these mass pyramids they engineered that
work of art that we see today
then Fibonacci who gave a foundation for
creating proportional designs so you’ll
see the golden spiral and Leonardo da
Vinci now
a Leonardo da Vinci oh you know go to
Spiro so Leonardo da Vinci he was
multiple things he was a sculptor a
painter and a lot of people don’t give
him his recognition but he was a
engineer for the crossbow arrow worships
tanks and many other things he was a
Renaissance man Beatrix Potter of female
artists illustrator and scientist she
she studied fungus and was insects and
even even plants and her interests of
science fed into her
artwork ability to create watercolor
paintings and those watercolor paintings
into great illustrations great books
everyone know everyone knows about Peter
Rabbit right she was the mastermind
behind that through science and arts
that’s being a Renaissance person and
this fine gentleman right here Garrett
Morgan an african-american male who was
the traffic signal
he used engineering and art as a
communication tool to let us know that
hey stop slow down go and those colors
he he used those colors too he use those
colors to inform people art speaks to us
art is within our mind we created
everyday we create art every day and we
don’t even think about it the chairs you
sit in the brochures and the pamphlets
that you all have those are works of art
to inform to teach to speak to you and
so when people tell me oh art has no
purpose art has no purpose in steam it
does you can’t have you can’t design a
chair or you can’t create buildings
without drawing or sketching you know or
even with science science the art goes
hand in hand when when you’re creating
paints use chemistry to create those
colors or those textures or those smooth
or rigid edges that’s chemistry within
arts and then art in science we see
visuals of the world we live in today we
we see how our world functions you know
study of life
so art art is just it’s so much more
steam stem steam is just one thing but
art is just is massive it’s everywhere
it’s everything life the thoughts in our
head and you know I’m gonna say it
God gives us these thoughts gives us
these creations cuz if you think about
it when creating the world I created the
world a massive piece of work
trees life math itself the symmetry of
the earth that is that’s massive like
what who else could have created
something so beautiful so I encourage my
team leaders to don’t forget about the
process don’t forget about arts
footprint within science technology
engineering mathematics life itself the
thoughts we have where we are all
artists we’re all artists you designing
in constructing ideas and plans for the
schools you changing the world you
capturing beauty you speaking truth is
all art thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: