Between 1930s and 1980s a string of resorts cropped up in the Catskills Mountain region of New York state. Known affectionately as "the Borscht Belt", these hotels catered to Jews, many of them first- or second-generation immigrants who, looking both to assimilate to the American way of vacationing and gather as a tribe, converged in upstate New York for summer holidays. As a person of Jewish descent, I’ve been fascinated by the significance of these hidden locals of leisure since seeing Dirty Dancing as a young girl.
These paintings contrast historical postcards of the resorts in their heyday with present day photographs I made of their ruins in 2014. I also collaged into these paintings fruit label imagery from the California citrus industry. Oranges and lemons are an allegory for California, my home state and another invented Eden that is not what it seems. The rapid and utter deterioration of these resorts remains a fascination for me and example of how quickly Americans construct a fantasy and cast it aside.
The Pines, 2015 Oil on Canvas, 24"x72"
Evergreen, 2015 Oil on Canvas, 24"x72"
Untitled, 2015 Oil on Canvas, 24"x72"
Lofty, 2015 Oil on Canvas, 24"x72"
Splendid, 2015 Oil on Canvas, 24"x72"