Bottle or Drink - Limited Edition 1 of 10 Photograph

I made this black and white photograph in 1985. This is a typical roadside liquor store that you would see on the way back to Philadelphia from Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Admiral Liquor Store was situated on the Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, an area well-known for its sleazy atmosphere. The entire area was razed in 2000 by then NJ Governor Christine Whitman. This image is from the exhibition “Enticement: Donald Trump and the 80s Transformation of Atlantic City” my first solo show in Barcelona, Spain (March-April 2016, at Or Verd) consisting of 16 limited edition black and white photographs shown for the first time. Atlantic City was the destination for my family´s day trip summer vacations in the 1960s. In 1976 casino gambling was legalised there and the first casino, Resorts, opened in 1978. At the time casinos were introduced, Las Vegas was the only other place in the United States where casino gambling existed. It led to boom times for the city, with major real estate developers, including Donald Trump moving into town. When I began making images of Atlantic City in the 1980s busloads of people were enticed there. It was the height of the casino era. Basically, people were paid to come. A typical bus ticket cost around $18 and on arrival visitors were handed the equivalent in quarters (for the slot machines) and coupons to spend in the casinos. The introduction of casino gambling completely transformed this once grand dame of a seaside resort, known as “The World´s Playground”, famous for its 4-mile long oceanfront boardwalk, the Miss American Pageant, the diving horse show, Captain Starn´s, and the famous Million Dollar, Steeplechase and Steel Piers. It also completely recast the purpose and impact of our family visits there, a theme explored in a separate project Million Dollar Memories. Enticement: Donald Trump and the 80s Transformation of Atlantic City revisits the liquor stores, cafés and sex shops that comprise the nearby urban and suburban landscapes of New York and New Jersey provide a glimpse into an entertainment era before the introduction of the internet and mobile phones. Much of my work is inspired by the great documentary photographers, Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, and New Jersey´s own George Tice. Please note that typically I create to two editions of my work: 1) a small print size and larger number of prints and 2) a larger print size with a smaller number of prints. This item is from the small print size edition (of 10) and is delivered in a standard 11x14 inch mat with backing board, ready to be framed by the collector in a standard 11x14 inch frame. Please note there is NO WATERMARK on the final print. It is included here only to discourage copying and to give credit to the in case of sharing on social media. Thank you for understanding.