SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Police officers portrayed as pigs in a student art exhibit at Sac State is gaining attention.

Jacob Lewis is a senior art student and said there’s more than meets the eye in his paintings.

“There’s a lot of deeper meanings in there,” he said.

Lewis said it’s his political avenue to express feelings of injustice.

“I need to send a message with my work rather than paint something that looks cool,” he said.

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Which is why he started painting pigs in uniforms last year during the controversial police brutality.

One is seen shooting aimlessly with a bandana around his eyes and another depicted as a slob. He even painted “F— the police.”

“Not all cops are to blame for the situation, but I’m basically just trying to bring attention to the fact that there are a lot of bad cops out there,” Lewis said.

But others believe it’s offensive and not art, especially Arianna Perez who’s a grad student going into law enforcement.

“Police officers they put on a uniform and go out to work every single day, and to view them or perceive them as something like this, it’s pretty upsetting,” Perez said.

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The university was made aware of the controversy and issued a statement.

“Art often prompts dialogue and conversation and expresses a variety of opinions,” Sheree L. Meyer, Dean, College of Arts and Letters, Sacramento State.

Most can agree on that.

“It lets people express themselves in the right way,” said Sac State student Naomi Diaz.

“Jacob over here saw something wrong with society and sees a message that needs to be told, not necessarily if I agree with it or everyone else agrees with it, but it’s always encouraging, especially to get university campus to have people who are willing to take a chance,” said Trevor Wright, a junior and English major.

So for now, the art stays where it’s at.

It’s not all political; he has paintings from his hometown among other drawings.

A reception will be held Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on campus in the art building, RW Witt Hall.

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