
The 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. Robert Janz’s unique artistic medium is water on brick, stone or concrete. He paints totemic words on New York City façades and sidewalks. Janz’s self-erasing word paintings challenge the serendipitous viewer to reflect on the contradictory nature of artistic practices that often capture and immortalize both a fleeting moment in time and the mortal artist that captured it. In capturing this story of the artist at work, the film evokes Janz’s philosophical musings on practicing an art form that is very much a metaphor for his own mortality. Both the filmmaker and the viewer clearly become not just observers but students of Janz and his art.
Cast: Robert Janz
The 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. Robert Janz’s unique artistic medium is water on brick, stone or concrete. He paints totemic words on New York City façades and sidewalks. Janz’s self-erasing word paintings challenge the serendipitous viewer to reflect on the contradictory nature of artistic practices that often capture and immortalize both a fleeting moment in time and the mortal artist that captured it. In capturing this story of the artist at work, the film evokes Janz’s philosophical musings on practicing an art form that is very much a metaphor for his own mortality. Both the filmmaker and the viewer clearly become not just observers but students of Janz and his art.
Creators and cast
- Directors
- Noah David Smith
- Cast
- Robert Janz
- Studio
- Analog Films
Maturity rating
Not yet rated.
Where to watch
Not currently listed on any streaming, rental or purchase service.















