The face of secrecy is in the middle of an artistic revolution, by means of the United States Postal Service.

PostSecret is an emerging community art project created by Frank Warren in November 2004. The project's initiative is to invite people to anonymously contribute a truthful, never-before-revealed secret on a decorated 4x6 postcard. The postcard is sent to a provided address and published in Warren's books or on the PostSecret Web site.

PostSecret began as an art exhibition entry sent in by Warren. It later gained recognition and was named one of the top five best art shows by the Washington Post. To date, PostSecret has received 80,000 postcards from all the world.

The secrets revealed on Warren's site and in books range from amusing to heart-wrenching. The material revealed in the postcards includes sexual preferences, personal desires, suicide, personal hygiene habits, infidelity and others.

Warren's book, My Secret. available at the end of 2006, focuses specifically on high school and college-age people.

PostSecret has been gaining recognition with UW students.

"I think the site is really interesting and creative," freshman Ann Nguyen said. "At the beginning I honestly didn't believe that these secrets were sent by real people because the first ones I read were hilarious. I had to share them with a couple of my friends."

A positive attribute of the art project is the association that students discover while browsing through the Web site.

"I like it a lot because it is very personable and I can relate to it," freshman Christine Huebner said. "I still go to PostSecret on Sundays because I find that the material helps me realize that there are other people going through similar personal situations. I think everyone battles inner demons so it's nice to let them out."

Conversely, the exposure of secrets does have its drawbacks.

"Some secrets might be too sentimental or emotional for some audiences," Nguyen said.

"If people's postcards were recognized, they could be hurt in some way," Huebner said.

"I think it's a risk that they take by sending a postcard in," he said.

Warren has traveled to bookstores and universities across the United States, spreading the word about his project, in hopes of helping people learn more about his reasoning behind the project.

At a lecture at Seattle University, Warren explained the foundation of PostSecret. He said he was curious about other people's secrets; learning about others helped him reveal his own secret in one of his books. Warren said the project has allowed him to communicate with people all over the world through art and writing. He believes everyone who has participated in the project deserves credit.

Warren also said the biggest secret in America was suicide. In America, for every murder that is committed, two people will take his or her own life, Warren said. He has been raising awareness about suicide prevention and hopes that PostSecret will be a method used to help the situation.

"All of us have our vulnerabilities and regrets," said David Slagle, senior staff therapist at the UW Counseling Center.

"I think that we all experience different kinds of shame in our lives and things we feel like we can't reveal or talk about. Generally speaking, I think it's healthy to be able to be seen and understood by another person."

PostSecret rooted from an art project and is now expanding to a new form of communication.

"The feelings and emotions that people experience are real," Huebner said. "People often think they are the only person in the world dealing with a burden, but in reality, they are one of many."

Web site: http://www.postsecret.com

Reach reporter Vicky Yan at development@thedaily.washington.edu