You Can't Spell America Without Eric

Book excerpt: Eric Payson's fourth monograph is a contemporary memoir of the people and places encountered by the artist during his travels throughout the United States. In the great tradition of the American road trip, Payson journeys from New York to Los Angeles with stops in the deep South and the sunbelt, documenting his encounters and revealing a dynamic diversity of experiences. With a keen eye for detail and razor-sharp wit, Payson dissects his America with a stunning Technicolor vision. A woman is frozen in mid-air in the instant before she plunges into a pool; a man is captured, arm outstretched, as he releases a handful of breadcrumbs into the wind for a group of birds overhead; a young girl, wide-eyed and ears covered, screams in her mother's arms. You Can't Spell America Without Eric is the culmination of Payson's compelling vision of American culture and is filled with fascination for any viewer.