I made most of the portraits in this series in the vicinity of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1994. I was interested in the way people were using personal ads to look for love and companionship. I began to pay attention to the personals ads in local newspapers where individuals submitted a brief statement, often with only a few lines to describe themselves, who, and what they were looking for. For this project, I contacted people who had written ads that particularly interested me and asked to make a portrait. I wanted to see how my portraits would resonate with their own descriptions. By 1999, when I turned to this project again, personal ads were beginning to move from newspapers to the internet.
Gorgeous blue eyes, single white male, 20’s tall, athletic build, seeks girl next door, 20’s attractive, for friendship, dating. Photo guarantees reply.
