Secrets Anonymous

Last week, while catching up on videos on Maniac World, I came across this Valentine's Day video:




Now typically, I am not one to go ga-ga over Valentine's Day. But because I was curious about the videos that I missed by not checking in with Maniac World for several days, I felt obligated to give this video a quick look-see.

OK, it had some interesting art work, but the video was still not something that really excited me.

However, what did pique my curiosity was the medium behind the message.

With that video, I was introduced to the PostSecret Community and its blog.

Post Secret is the brain child of Frank Warren.

It all started with a dream that Frank had while on his first trip to Paris in December 2003.

From there, Frank launched the Reluctant Oracle Project, where created art work composed of countless glass bottles containing double-sided photographic images of a left hand printed on thick paper hanging from the cork. On each hand was a cryptic message more profound than that found in a fortune cookie.

These bottles were released a large Pennsylvania lake with the intention of their being serendipitously found by others.

This project created an international media sensation.

Immediately after that, PostSecret began.

What is PostSecret?

PostSecret is a community art project where people anonymously send their secrets ~ secrets that they never shared with anyone before ~ on the back of a postcard to an address in Maryland.

From there, the secrets may be posted on the PostSecret blog. Those that don't make the blog have the possibility of finding their way into an up-coming PostSecret book.

Secret sharers are encouraged to be creative when revealing their secrets. Most postcards are works of art with minimal wording.

So, what is the point of PostSecret?

Obliviously there is more to it than just narcissistic catharsis of the creative sort ~ more to it than just a community art project.

The burden of releasing the weight of a deep secret can be healing ~ not only for the person originally burdened by the secret, but also for a complete stranger looking at that secret.

One woman actually got the courage to leave an abusive relationship after reading a postcard where the secret sharer wrote: "His temper is so scary, I've lost all my opinions."

What I wonder is if PostSecret has ever received secrets that were appallingly criminal, like, "I sexually abused my girlfriend's 18-month-old daughter."

And if so, what did Frank do with those secrets?

Did he turn over those postcards to the authorities or rationalize that not all secrets revealed are true?

Still, PostSecret is an intriguing and provocative concept. And it is following through with one of the major purposes of art, which is to make people stop dead in their tracks and think.

So, what is your secret?

And are you ready to anonymously share it with the world?