Eric Diehl

"The massive country in which we live has become smaller. The United States faces stereotypes, shrinking and homogenizing locales, media labels, economic collapse - which smothers the voice of individual interactions. With the creation of the Internet every community and individual has access to images and articles illuminating the nation. However, much of our media exposure is based on caricatures of customs, opinions, and dialects from every regional corner. Current TV and Internet depictions not only bring ideas and people together, but also focus on what keeps us apart. This summer I hit the road in a work van, laden with painting supplies, to traverse America for 2 months and produce a series of paintings entitled "Auto-Paint, USA." With the company of a fellow painter, I stopped in economically hard-hit cities as well as far-flung rural environments. I hoped to capture, through plein-aire painting and photo-reference, a glimpse of the current conditions of young creators in this country. From New York to Los Angeles we contacted artists to assist us as cultural tour guides and shine subjective light on the difficulties of creating in their respective communities. Through the donation of resources from over 100 individuals, we successfully funded the project through the website "Kickstarter.com." The 7-week journey culminated with a show of the paintings and photographs in a gallery space in downtown Los Angeles. My approach was layered with multiple inspirations as I observed many factors in these various communities including gender, class, race, political climate and topical geography."