The Golden Age
In the traditional narrative of immigration to the United States, images of 19th century Ellis Island are often placed front and center. In popular culture, as expressed through books, movies and politics, there exists a romantic notion to that era in American history. It is often expressed that those European immigrants did it “the right way.” In reality, the underlying dynamics of immigration to this country haven’t changed. People still come to this country in search of a better life and are willing to work hard to succeed. San Diego, as the busiest land border crossing in the world and port of entry for many legal, undocumented and asylum seeking immigrants, is in effect a new Ellis Island for immigrants.
This installation creates a connection between the modern era and the romanticized past by displaying contemporary portraits of immigrants in a vintage format that is reminiscent of old photos from the 19th century. Photos have been printed in a style similar to aged tintypes and wet collodion prints of that bygone era and are presented in elegant frames typical of the Victorial era that the artist collected for this installation.