A conversation between two human beings

People capable of liking some paintings or prints or whatever can rarely do so without knowing something about the artist. Again, the situation is social rather than scientific. Any work of art is half of a conversation between two human beings, and it helps a lot to know who is talking at you. Does he or she have a reputation for seriousness, for religiosity, for suffering, for concupiscence, for rebellion, for sincerity, for jokes?

Here is Kurt Vonnegut telling his brother to show his experimental art in public and to use his face, because “pictures are famous for their humanness, and not for their pictureness”.

Frequently, when I open a book for the first time, I encounter a new author. I need to know something about them: where and when they lived, what they looked like, what they did besides writing, and what else they wrote. I need to have an idea of the kind of person who is going to tell me a story, because understanding a book often requires me to ask why the author wrote it. What was their purpose?

It’s a bit the same when I read an article on a blog or look at an open-source project. I want to know the human behind it and read something brief about the author.

The fear is being found out for being imperfect. The fear is also for being known in general: maybe you're a real butch tough guy but your art style is playful and tender and you don't want that side to come out. Maybe your taste is weird or undeveloped and you don't want anyone to know. But the person who puts nothing out for judgment just isn't known at all.

Tom is right. At a time when the internet is filling up with artificial content, it is even more important to put ourselves out there rather than remain anonymous. Show that you are real, and give others a reason to trust you before asking for their attention.