The Art of the Word and the Word as Art


Davenfrank Press aims to achieve the perfect combination of literary and visual art through handsome letterpress editions of poems, artfully designed cards and posters and locally designed fine art.  The Detroit area boasts an amazing level of artistic talent, particularly in the field of poetry.  However, while poets often have a verbal means of expression through slam competitions and public performances, the printed word has been neglected of late. Furthermore, the art of the broadsheet and the elegantly printed word no longer have a champion in the Detroit area. With regard to poetry itself, local publications are limited in scope and rarely feature poetry, while the national press has not yet discovered the bounty of talent that Detroit can claim. Davenfrank Press will fill the need for artistic renderings of the written word, particularly with relation to Detroit-area poets and artists.

We at Davenfrank believe a market exists for people who appreciate the written word in all its beauty.  Through the rendering of poetry and text as art object, poetry will assume a visual and physical beauty denied to it by other forms of expression.  Artists from Japanese calligrapher Mokuan to Pop artist Barbara Kruger have used the word as the basis for some of the world’'s most intriguing art.  The written word, if presented well, can have the same or greater effect than the spoken word, and can function as eloquently as a painting or sculpture.

Davenfrank Press intends to focus on letterpress printing as its main avenue of expression.  In letterpress, each work is individually set and hand-pulled for maximum artistic effect. Letterpress works have a distinctive look and feel, a crispness no other medium can adequately replicate.  Letterpress presses are generally used for text and dingbat-style art, but with the advent of digital graphics and new plate development techniques many works of art can now be translated to a letterpress environment. While Davenfrank Press will create traditional letterpress products such as business cards, invitations and posters, the ultimate goal is to develop artistic renderings of text.

Stay tuned for our Kickstarter page!