Casual Encounter
Materials: 2 large televisions 2 computer monitors with video feed 2 “paintings” (framed flat screen televisions) coffee service 9/10 tables with chairs
Introduction: This is a proposal for a surveillance video installation which incorporate life-art in the gallery space, as well as multiple cities throughout the US which will be shown through 3 different types of “screens.” I propose to challenge the idea of what it means to meet someone through Craigslist.org for a “Casual Encounter.” My audience will be coffee drinkers in a gallery as well as those who are expecting to use this space to meet with who they thought was going to serve as a “Casual Sex Partner.”
Craigslist.org is self described as, "Local community classifieds and forums - a place to find jobs, housing, goods & services, social activities, a girlfriend or boyfriend, advice, community information, and just about anything else -- all for free, and in a relatively non-commercial environment." Craigslist offers an extensive array of "personals" sub sections. These include: strictly platonic; women seek women; women seeing men; men seeking women; men seeking men; misc romance; casual encounters; missed connections; and finally rants and raves. Each of these sub sections of the "personals" section have their own dynamic of expectations from the posters and respondents. I am interested in the "casual encounters" sub section and the assumption that a "casual encounter" implies casual sex.
Upon clicking on the "casual encounters" section of Craigslist, you are prompted by a warning confirming that:
Not all of craigslist's sections have this warning; in fact most do not. I am interested in playing with this idea of a "casual encounter" within a gallery setting.
This is what I propose: I would like to set up a false add as a person looking for a casual encounter. I will keep the message vague as to my expectations for example: "I am a female looking to play with the idea of a causal encounter..." etc. I have no intention of lying, but instead only of using the craigslist intentions of the idea of a "causal encounter" to my advantage. Assuming I receive a response, which based on the work of Simon Owens (
http://www.waxy.org/archive/2006/09/08/sex_bait.shtml), should not be a challenge. Owens ran an experiment in which he posed as a female in search of a male, a male in search of a female, a female in search of a female and a male in search for a male, within 3 different cities and then compared the number of responses each of his false identities received. By far the female in search of a male received the majority of e-mail responses, ranging from 54 to 200 responses (other groups had between 0 -10 responses in each city). With the responses I receive I would then reply with a place to meet. I would ask that the respondents from a certain area meet me at the same place. For example, if I were to post a "casual encounters" add in San Francisco, I might choose to meet at Golden Gate Park. Each respondent would be given the same place and time to meet and would find themselves alone in this "casual encounter" amongst themselves.
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