Cathartic creation

Everybody has their little secrets. Many have their big secrets. In the fall of 2004, Frank Warren decided he wanted to hear the unspeakable spoken. Warren, a successful businessman in the medical research field living in Germantown, Maryland, distributed blank postcards all around the DC area with a return address and the following instructions:

'You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession or childhood humiliation. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative.

Not only did he get a few returns, his mailbox soon overflowed with responses. His unique, yet modest idea for inclusion in a local art exhibition has since blossomed into a project of international scope. Having surpassed 5 million hits on his website and catalogued over 3,000 postcards, this ‘accidental artist’ now spends more time on his postcard project than at his real job. For a more involved history and analysis of Warren’s work, The Guardian recently detailed this anomalous art in an article fittingly entitled ‘Secret Service’. NPR also aired a piece in March.

I think the person who introduced me encapsulated the feel of the website best: Some of them are funny, some are trite, some are artistically beautiful, and some of them you can relate to. I guess its liberating, to unburden yourself of secrets...to strangers. Why is it that we are so afraid that the people closest to us can't handle the truth? I highly recommend taking a few minutes and checking out his website because the selections are pretty moving.

The hype continues to grow as Melbourne-based composer Sasha Stella decided to create a music/theatre performance based upon the project which promises to entice along the same vein as the Vagina Monologues. On top of that, a book is in the works and a number of exhibitions have been planned.