Disappearing Man

Disappearing Man is an intimate film portrait of TriBeCa artist Robert Janz – whose ephemeral, streetscape water paintings reflect on the impermanence of the artist’s own life.

I first encountered Robert at dusk, with his threadbare shirt and translucent skin, carrying a jar of pennies for those less fortunate. He struck me as a spectral spirit – already on his way to another land. He was happy to be photographed. He told me that he was working on his most important artistic project.

My impulse to make Disappearing Man came from Robert’s honesty about his decline, and the way in which his health and his artwork mirrored each other.

As Robert’s health allowed, he ventured down the many flights of stairs to the streets below his apartment and painted his “most special words” with water on the brick, stone and concrete immediately surrounding Duane Park.

Aware of his physical decline and imminent death – Robert created works of art that reflected the exact state of his life and philosophy. As a portrait-based photographer and filmmaker, I saw a film about Robert, and his messages of creativity, compassion and love for life, as an opportunity to help us all wrestle with our individual existences and our eventual mortality.

As a filmmaker, I collaborate with individuals to capture their truths and experiences. I believe shared stories – and their embedded experiences, emotions and knowledge – strengthen the collective fabric of our community.