Why a type art piece and why now?

Let's face it, this was a painful election. All sixteen months of it.

Starting with the 19--count'em--19--Republicans that had a go at the Seat of Power to Hillary and Bernie duking it out as the DNC sabotaged their way into the hearts of Wikileaks.

You can probably guess who I wanted for prez, but all in all, I was disappointed about the two finalists because they were such old fogies. Both of them. Not at all ageist, I had and still have problems with people running for office when they have an eye on the golf course (no smirks here; and, O plays a lot of golf. I just see golf as the last step before pull-ups and assisted living).

From the Fann Street Foundry Type Specimen Book.

That was one--of many--problems I had with RWR and his minion, 41. I think we need younger candidates; optimistic forward thinkers who are willing to chance and change it all. We need some disruption!

Well, that's what the electorate said; but they voted for the most establishment coot walking the planet. What could be more establishment than a billionaire daddy's boy from Queens?

Back to the type art piece.

I started it before the election. Really. I started it anticipating a hostile congress obstructing the plans and proposals of yet another president for eight years and I questioned why our democracy was being flung from a car window--from the get-go.

DEMOCRACY SPOKEN HERE responds to the voice of people who are marginalized and disenfranchised because of their gender, color or beliefs. It's a series of type treatments of quotes by Americans who were truly on the courageous edge and speak to the struggle of their journey.

A new project, a new blog.

DEMOCRACY SPOKEN HERE is a typographic art piece currently under research and development. Its final form will be a series of typeset phrases of American historical impact rendered in a variety of formats: metal and woodcut letterpress printing, silkscreen printing, inkjet printing, and culminating in the hand-lettering of the title phrase with brush and ink.

It all begins with the font. A message is only as compelling as the font expressing it: Strong yet accessible, steady yet inviting, fun yet serious. The answer: Clarendon.

Published in England in 1845 by a foundry employee, Clarendon is considered the first registered typeface. Its slab serif was well suited for rendering in wooden type slabs, and was therefore associated with wanted posters of the American Old West.

What makes Clarendon different from the slab serif fonts up until then is its serif. Note, it's rounded, not square, which made the font ideal for the high-speed newspaper presses that were rapidly expanding their reach in Great Britain in the 1830's and 1840s. 

The rounded bracket would take the pressure of high speed presses 
and not rip thin newsprint paper.

In coming posts, I'll share with you my journey in searching for meaningful phrases to commit to design, setting and printing; in the process, explore the typeface Clarendon; and finally, the print methods to bring this project to life.