Angel Leyva 

“I wanted to create an aesthetically pleasing photo with a powerful meaning,” said Angel Leyva, a senior art major.

Leyva’s inspiration sparked in high school and from then on Leyva has had an eye for art. Now his photos are up in California State University, Bakersfield’s new Media Arts Center. These pieces are photos that were digitally altered to have a deeper message. The signs have shocking but important messages on them. The photos were taken in Bakersfield, and two of them were taken in Los Angeles. 

Leyva made sure to keep the same font as the original sign, but change its messages, at first glance, you might think it’s the original until you read it.  

“Art might not change the world but art is a thing that can change people’s mind,” said Leyva. 

Liliana Martinez  

“It’s like you’re separating from yourself and coming right back,” said Liliana Martinez, a senior art major.

Martinez’s start at doing art was also in high school. The choice of color for this painting was blue, which she said is a claiming color. The inspiration behind the painting  an artist named James Jean, who created many contemporary art pieces. The woman in the painting is a version of herself.  

The second painting is her favorite piece, which she had done about a year ago. Inspired by Son of Man, a 1964 painting by Belgian painter Rene Magritte with a similar painting style. The fruit in front of her face might look like a tomato, but it’s actually a persimmon, which is her favorite fruit. 

Rebecca Fruto  

“I wanted people to feel peaceful and calm when they see my painting,” said senior Rebecca Fruto. 

 Fruto’s sister’s 15th birthday was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In Latin American culture, a girl’s Quinceañera is a huge milestone, and their family not being able to come down to celebrate affected her mental health. Watching her sister go through depression had an effect on her, so she decided to make a painting representing that moment. The second painting has the same calming color purple, and the rocking chair symbolizes her grandfather sitting on the porch. He passed away in 2016, and now Fruto has been able to make peace with it through her painting.  

Miranda Vasquez  

“Not a lot of people our age are going to own houses,” said senior Miranda Vasquez.   

Vasquez used to live in Los Angeles until rent was unaffordable for her to move back to Bakersfield in 2020. Vasquez’s photos and art piece represent the housing crisis. Vasquez mentioned it’s getting harder for people in their 20s and early 30s to buy a home and she wanted to show how something might be of your liking but you may not be able to afford it. Parents being the ones to express to their children that “at your age I was buying a house” is stressful because times are different, said Vasquez. Inflation is affecting everyone and her performance art photos convey that. The photos are taken in Taft, and she is the one covered in an orange safety fence.