This body of work consists of 70 objects/prints. There are 35 women and 35 men represented. The images and text were copied from an internet dating website. The semi-blurred image is the result of enlarging very small profile photos captured from the website. In most cases the entire profile text was copied over the photograph. A color laser printer was used to print the images onto wax-reinforced craftpaper, to which jute handles were attached to simulate the appearance of grocery bags. To reconstruct further the grocery- bag look, creases were made to approximate the folds and marks seen on similar paper bags. Internet dating websites are supermarkets of self-promotion.

All the individuals in the photos claim their age to be close to my own, 54. I’ve chosen seven women and seven men from each of the zip codes of my former residences. (Orange County, CA, the San Francisco Peninsula, Northwest suburbs of Chicago, the Twin Cities, and South Central Illinois.) I do not wish to imply that I’ve looked for dates in all these zip codes but I have sought to meet people by using a dating website. I’ve read countless profiles, of course, mostly written by women. I have read some mens profiles. I think I am one of the few people on dating websites who actually reads the profiles of their his gender.

These profiles are sales pitches. They are mostly positive. These people “love life and love to laugh.” A rudimentary reading of profiles shows several catch phases people use to describe themselves and for what they are looking. Although most desire a sense of humor in their potential mates, few exhibit any humor in their profiles. The proliferation of earnestness, positivity and optimism, in the end, bespeaks redundancy, bleakness and conformity. Since most people using these sites to find dates are divorced, one might conclude that many have failed in previous relationships. Even so, one reads little in these profiles about the years of counseling, or loneliness or depression—which most certainly has been the case. (Well, at least in my case.) Maybe it’s just me, but I find a sadness in all this. There are stories of couples meeting, falling in love and continuing for the long term. I still believe it can happen. That is what the women are looking for, and perhaps, a few of the men.

— Guy Chase, June 17, 2009