Williams Coronado, an art instructor at Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts, is pictured here with a student.
By Mirvetk Tonuzi
Special to the Record-Transcript
For Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts instructor Williams Coronado, the journey from envisioning a career in accounting to embracing artistry was transformative, influenced by early exposure, familial inspiration, and a quest for self-discovery.
“From a young age, I was exposed to artistry through my father’s collection of books on Michelangelo and da Vinci,” said Coronado. “Yet, it was my uncle who held the key to unlocking my passion. He studied European classical art, introducing me to the basics of drawing and painting at the tender age of six. He was consistent in tutoring me, residing in the same building, igniting a spark that shaped my artistic foundation.”
His artistic curiosity was further nourished by a profound love for comic books and their intricate anatomical illustrations.
Coronado recalled spending countless hours immersed in the pages of these comics, particularly drawn to the detailed anatomy portrayed.
“I asked my uncle to show me how to draw Batman and other superheroes,” he said. “I was mesmerized. Anything that had anatomy, the more muscular, the better.”
Fondly, he recalls, “In my first-grade art class, the assignment was to craft animals out of plastic, a task I refused. I hated getting my hands dirty. Imagine, this was my first experience with art, and I failed. I did nothing the whole year.”
Years later, fate intervened as Coronado encountered the same teacher, this time instructing on perspective.
“Seated at the back of the class, I vividly recall the teacher’s comments about failing students who didn’t engage, and then he added, ‘Right, Mr. Coronado?'”
While he had struggled with sculptural tasks, the principles of perspective art came naturally to him.
“That was my early experience,” he said.
Fast forward, Coronado graduated from New Jersey City University boasting dual degrees in business administration and studio fine arts.
“My intent was to become an accountant,” he said.
Despite his professional endeavors, including negotiating contracts at a broadcasting company, Coronado always felt a profound pull towards art.
“While I was working there, I was taking classes at New Jersey City University and the Art Student League in New York. I had to take an elective. I always had art tingling.
I took a class. I liked how they connected psychology, philosophy, and the social sciences. It was complicated and intellectually appealing. I always thought art was just a visceral experience. I also realized that I was rusty with my drawings, frowned upon in a visual and performing arts school. A professor from the college said I should continue pursuing my business focus.”
Undaunted, Coronado absorbed it all and worked to overcome his lack of skills.
“When I focus like that, I breathe it in, I live it, I become part of what I want to do,” he said. “I was sketching 24 hours a day. That same professor marveled at the intensity and quality of my work a year later. I was even honored with the Karen Myers Ziccardi Art Award.”
Coronado has exhibited his work in various locations, including New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. His artistic contributions have been recognized in publications like ArtistCloseUp, ArtVoices Magazine, The Star Ledger, and New American Paintings’ magazines.
Developing as an artist has significantly influenced his teaching approach.
“I demonstrate techniques that took me years to master, now simplified for my students—I can condense what I’ve learned into just a week’s worth of lessons,” Coronado said.
Looking ahead, Coronado aspires to present a solo exhibition showcasing a body of work encompassing around 30 pieces.
“Figurative painting can communicate the experience of life through its depictions of human beings engaged in various activities and interactions,” he said. “By capturing the nuances of expressions, body language, and gestures, figuration can convey a sense of the joys, struggles, and complexities of human existence. It can also ignite an existential psychological response within the consciousness of the viewer.”
“These figures can also communicate the fragility and transience of life, along with the inevitability of death,” he said. “This can be achieved through depictions of symbolic or allegorical imagery, positioning of the body, body distortions, and the deliberate elimination of details that our minds typically recognize. The artistic representation of the body in contemporary art can convey a profound sense of impermanence or ephemerality.”
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