This piece actually fits into my decade long investigations of violence and gender issues. I had been thinking about a student of mine who recently broke up with her intended husband. On the rebound, she got into a computer chat room, met a man 2000 miles away and then proceeded to meet him, or rather allow him to travel that distance to meet her. I found this very strange as a way of meeting another person, but my students seemed unfazed by it.

So I started paying more attention to the computer as a way of establishing relationships, which led me to web sites that deal with sex and dating. I was both amused and bemused by most of it, but also to some extent, perplexed. Rather than advertising a list of preferred physical or sexual characteristics on the internet, I think of dating in very subtle, face to face ways. I needed a sociological explanation. I decided that sexual attraction and social interaction would be a logical subject for the HomeoStatic Portfolio. What could be a more pertinent interface between our species and the machine than the computer? Make your own interpretations.

Janice Hartwell received a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and a MFA from the University of Massachusetts. Hartwell's solo exhibits include Gender/Violence, Florida School for the Arts; Feminization Series,? North Georgia College and State University; and Polytypic Triologue, Florida Center for Contemporary Art, Tampa FL. Her group exhibitions include: Pressed and Pulled VII, National Printmaking Exhibition, GA; Clemson National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Clemson University; and Los Angeles Printmaking Society 13th National Exhibition, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Hartwell's work is featured in corporate and public collections including Columbia University, Barnett Bank Corporate Art Collection, Bell South Corporate Collection and the City of Tallahassee. Hartwell is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Florida State University.