San Bernardino is the second largest city in the Inland Empire and most popularly known for its location on the historic Route 66.
Due to the city’s limitations and financial crisis, art is not an important component of the city. The closest thing to art located in San Bernardino is the San Bernardino County Museum and a much smaller museum located at CSUSB.
There is very little opportunity to blow up as an artist in San Bernardino, but there are still young aspiring artists who do not let the city’s limitations hold them back from achieving their dreams.
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Photography in San Bernardino is on the rise with two young aspiring photographers in Marlon Del Rio and Gilbert Ramirez. Both are well-known photographers with unique styles and aesthetics.
Del Rios’s style is dark and rich in texture which he mostly shoots with black and white film using his vintage Canon AE-1 film camera. He also shoots with his digital camera on occasion but is more known for his film photography.
[su_quote]”I will always prefer film photography over digital photography. There is so much meaning and feeling behind using my film camera. I love film photography because the photograph is physically on a negative. You can feel and see it. I love everything about it…from going out and taking pictures of models or places to developing the pictures to printing the pictures,” said Del Rio.[/su_quote]
Ramirez’s style is more modern and tasteful, photographing models and locations with his go-to camera being Canon digital camera. His style heavily uses filters to fit his more modernistic aesthetic.
Ramirez has posted on Instagram showcasing all of his photography work:
View this post on Instagram
Both photographers are locals and have been born and raised in San Bernardino with no shame in claiming where they are from. They embrace where they are from and love their city.
“I’ve lived in San Bernardino all of my life and I would not have wanted it any other way. I love everything about this city. The good parts of San Bernardino and the bad parts. With my photography, I am usually attracted to the ‘uglier’ parts of the city which is more or less my aesthetic of photography,” Del Rio said.
[su_quote]“I take most of my photographs here in San Bernardino. I’d like to put my city on like Los Angeles and other cities that are known for their art. San Bernardino has a lot of talent and deserves to be recognized for what it truly has to offer,” Gilbert stated.[/su_quote]
These are just two artists that are putting San Bernardino on the map. These two have a big influence on the small art community in San Bernardino.
When asked how the art community is in San Bernardino is Del Rio responds “I think San Bernardino is going in the right direction with art. There is a lot of people out here trying to make a name for themselves with their art. It is really inspiring for me to see others come from San Bernardino and want to make it out doing what they love…it drives me to continue improving my craft and ultimately getting to where I want to be.”
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULYcgurqk7A%5D
Artists from San Bernardino do not allow their surroundings to limit their success and drive for succeeding in doing what they are passionate about.
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