Postsecret.blogspot.com is a website dedicated to secrets with an artful twist. Scrapbook postcards with secrets on them are shown on the site and updated each Sunday. the postcards just seem like 1 artists dark installation, which they are in a way, however, these are true secrets anonymously sent into Frank Warren, the author of the weblog.
Postsecret started out at The Artomatic Arts Festival in Washington D.C. which is a 2 yearly project where an abandoned building is taken over, broken down and used to exhibit different artists work. for around 60 dollars an artists can have their space to exhibit any of his/her works.
To me this website just shows the voyeuristic nature in us all, that craving for the unknown. I had many feelings looking on that site, it was weird like seeing something you shouldn't be seeing but not knowing exactly what your seeing and kinda liking it.I felt guilt over feeling that way but I'm obviously not the only person who enjoys this site.
In 2006 Postsecret got 5 bloggies including Weblog of the Year, and this year Franks blog has been nominated for 4 more.
I don't really know what to think of Mr Warren and it seems like that is the intended effect as his works all have cryptic undertones.He says he has an insatiable thirst to hear peoples secrets which all we probably do and this brainchild of his is in a way pushing that fact into your face.We all like to hear the tragic tale and know that it isn't us or our family, it kind of makes it easier to listen to, and the fact that the postcards on Franks weblog are anonymous makes it easier to read them and feel that way without feeling too bad about it. Its a taboo subject and Frank is no stranger to bad criticism, in fact he says he appreciates it. he thrives off taking people to that place in their mind that they don't want to go, you know? its easy to just push something to the back of your mind and just forget about it
In 2004 Frank embarked on The Clopper Lake Bottle Project, an art installation disguised as a game of blindfold hide and seek.From May 04- Aug 04 he planted 9 slight different corked bottles in the Clopper Lake, Seneca Creek State Park, Montgomery .The bottles all had a hand shaped postcard inside, hanging from the cork with thread with was sewn into the middle finger of the hands.the postcards were made up of 2 pics pasted together, 1 of each side of a hand. creepy messages were printed on the the palm of the hand sometimes splattered with red paint to look like blood and poems were printed on the back of the hand where you would write an address. the bottles baffled park officials and everybody else but authorities saw no risk in the disturbing finds. In Aug 04 he sent another bottle to the Washington City Paper.On the front of the package was an email address which the paper used to contact Frank who was calling himself Hobby Horse. despite repeated attempts and an article on his installation he refused to give any interviews on his work claiming to be contacting them through a middleman.
Ah..... I don't know, its a really original idea but also its also a bit creepy and crazy but then he does say that there was reference to Dadaism in his work, and i know nothing about Dadaism so its a bit of a non starter but it is weird!!! In 2005 he was asked by boy band All American Rejects for permission to use some of the postcards in a music video for their song "Dirty Little Secret".they offered Frank $1000 which he refused, instead asking them to make a $2000 donation to 1-800-SUICIDE which they did, raising awareness among younger people.
Frank went on to publish 4 Postsecret books: Extraordinary confessions of ordinary lives Dec/05, My Secret, A Postscecret Oct/06, The Secret lives of men and Women 0ct/06 and he has another one entitled A Lifetime of Secrets coming out next month.
You will be pleased to hear that there is a good side to this Circus of Misery and Despair.
This a personal project for Frank, a sort of outlet centre for those nasty little secrets eating away at you and he even supplies his home address on the weblog and the book cover, which gives it a much more personal feel as if your sending a postcard to a friend.. he gets about 200-300 postcards each day which he reads all himself. he manages the whole project and works with Americas National Suicide Prevention Helpline raising $75,000 for them last year. he also gives talks around the US on his book and he regularly meets people he has inspired including a young lady who stood up at the end of his talk.she was wearing a T-shirt with the words "20% of anorexics will die" on the front and symptoms of the illness on the back. the young lady said to him that the postcards gave her the courage to tell her secret so she wore the T-shirt to school even though she was worried.
when she got to school her classmates and friends supported her and asked her to make them T-shirt as well.
Now that is an extremely brave thing to do so if this guy is inspiring people to do things like that then it cant be too bad.
Creative, Crazy, Twisted??? I don't know maybe a bit of each but underneath it all it is a worthy cause. I cant wait to see the new ones on Sunday!!!
1 comment:
My friend got me sorta hooked on look at Postsecret. It's pretty interesting yet it doesn't really explain the purpose behind it. technically they are still secrets because the people posting them don't reveal themselves. Some people do follow up though on their secrets.
Its an interesting site and no doubt Frank is raking in the dollars and helping a good cause.
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