“I’m not a person of a lot of words, but essentially, the idea behind it is to move your mind from the literal to the metaphoric,” Jim Koconis stated just moments after his art was hung in the Tosa West learning center.
On April 10th, 2025, a new mural was gifted from the Wauwatosa West class of 1969 and displayed at Tosa West. The colorful, dimensional work was created by Jim Koconis, who is an alumnus of the class of 1969. The piece is titled “You’re Part of The World.”
The piece was created on two 4x8ft quarter inch plywood. It is framed out with furring strips, which provides strength, and painted so that the moisture does not warp the panels. The origami bird and orange panel were painted on plywood and applied as dimension. Different papers are placed together to create the background and it was washed with a stain to degrade the look of it, making it look older and worn. Koconis explained he wanted to make the background less sharp because he wanted it to look as though it is an idea that has been in people’s minds forever.
The reason that this mural is possible is because there was extra money left in the class of 1969’s budget. Instead of leaving it, the alumni wanted to contribute to the school positively. Originally, they were not sure how they wanted to do this. Ideas such as a bench or new bike racks were discussed, however the class would come to the ultimate decision that asking local independent artist and alumnus Jim Koconis to create something would be a better plan.
“Essentially, the idea behind the mural, and the idea behind education, is to move your mind from the literal to the metaphoric–that’s the whole purpose why you’re here at school,” Koconis explained. “The number here is the longitude and latitude of Wauwatosa West High School, but that’s not really where you’re at. A student–mentally, psychologically, spiritually–is in a different location. Literally, you’re here, but you’re not part of that world. There is a bigger world to be part of.”
Although the mural does not have much correlation to the class of 1969, Koconis’ lifelong love for art connects to his time spent at West. In fact, during his high school education, he was awarded the top national prize in the National Scholastic Art Competition. Now that Koconis has had the opportunity to create something for his school, one could say he has completed his experience with West. However, his impact will be long-lasting. “I hope some students receive a message [and] I hope they just appreciate the color and spontaneity of the piece, even if they have no interest in the message, which is a respectable position, at least they can enjoy the color and the vibrance of different colors in relationship to others.”
Principal Corey Golla was present at the installation. “This has been an awesome connection to our West history. I had a great time working with Jim,” Golla stated. “We had really great intellectual conversations about his piece. I can’t wait for lunch today to see how students interact with it.”
Although there was no ceremony for the installation itself, the piece will be recognized at the art show at Tosa West on May 28th from 5:30-7pm. Koconis wants to thank Mr. Golla and his classmates for making this possible.
