The project that captured a nation's imagination.
The instructions were simple, but the results were
extraordinary.
"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. Reveal
anything -- as long as it is true and you have never
shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be
creative."
It all began with an idea Frank Warren had for a community art
project. He began handing out postcards to strangers and leaving
them in public places -- asking people to write down a secret they
had never told anyone and mail it to him, anonymously.
The response was overwhelming. The secrets were both provocative
and profound, and the cards themselves were works of art --
carefully and creatively constructed by hand. Addictively
compelling, the cards reveal our deepest fears, desires, regrets,
and obsessions. Frank calls them "graphic haiku," beautiful,
elegant, and small in structure but powerfully emotional.
As Frank began posting the cards on his website, PostSecret took
on a life of its own, becoming much more than a simple art project.
It has grown into a global phenomenon, exposing our individual
aspirations, fantasies, and frailties -- our common humanity.
Every day dozens of postcards still make their way to Frank,
with postmarks from around the world, touching on every aspect of
human experience. This extraordinary collection brings together the
most powerful, personal, and beautifully intimate secrets Frank
Warren has received -- and brilliantly illuminates that human
emotions can be unique and universal at the same time.