JANZ Artist in Time is a documentary
film about Robert Janz, an 80 year old artist transforming the streets of New
York with his imagery.
I've known Robert for a long time. In December of 2012 Robert
was painting mountain panoramas on the blank billboard near Penn station, and I
asked him if I could film him doing it.
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This
is where it all started––a single afternoon's shoot has turned into
accompanying Robert on many different projects for well over a year, and now a
feature length film.
Robert makes art every day, for him it is like breathing. In the street he paints across graffiti strewn walls, in the countryside with water, in the studio he has a vast drawing made of tape and string that he changes daily. He works quickly, directly, responding to the moment––and if you don't catch it, its gone.
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This is why having a film about Robert Janz is important. If you live in New York City you can go out and spot a new Janz any day of the week, but the city erases these works. JANZ Artist in Time documents the evolution of the works from 2012 and is still ongoing, putting it all together with the man himself, his humor, his life story and philosophy.
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"The world
is one. We are what we witness." Robert Janz
Context is everything. Seeing
a mountain, a bird, a wild animal in the heart of the urban landscape charges
their meaning.
Janz challenges the savage behemoth of contemporary
life, recalling us to our roots and the fleeting nature of our existence. And film captures that evanescence.
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"Robert
is the monkey. Robert is the joker. Robert is the ninja. Robert is always in
the present." Fiona Templeton, Artist.
Born
in Belfast in 1932, Robert started making art on the streets of Los Angeles in
1960, drawing on the sands of Venice Beach and making impromptu sculptures with
sticks he carried with him wherever he went. Based on these works he won a
Fulbright Fellowship, which took him to a remote region of Spain. Since then he
has lived, taught and exhibited in New York, Dublin, Berlin, Paris, London, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Belfast, Baltimore and San Francisco. Robert is the true
Bohemian.
Your
Support
Robert
does not see himself as a “street artist” precisely. But this very contemporary
context is just right for him. His career is experiencing a late life
re-florescence, and we would dearly like JANZ-the-movie to add to that
phenomenon, widen his audience and deepen the understanding of his work and
his legacy.
Janz has a big following out in the world. Be an active part of that community and participate in this project. We want you on board.
What funds will be used for
Since I am an
editor, luckily I don’t have to hire one.
However I do need the support of an assistant and production office help
so that I can concentrate on that key creative work. Funds raised in the campaign will go directly
to that support:
•
transcription of interviews
•
editing/graphics assistant
•
archival photograph scanning
•
filming interviews with Janz associates to build historical background
• constructing
a web site to support the project to launch/distribution
The
editing stage can take quite a few months to complete on a documentary
production. However editing has already started, logging is done, the
trailer is made, and so I am expecting to have a fine cut in approximately
three months after the end of the campaign, which will bring us to July.
At that stage I will have to raise further funds for "completion"
which is color correcting, mixing and marketing. So the full completion
of the film will probably be the end of 2014––hey, just in time for Sundance!
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The Impact
Hang in there and
know that every penny you contribute will help and make a difference.
Until now I have been a one-person crew; I am looking forward to adding other
professionals into the mix, and your donation to our campaign is crucial to
making that possible. Please help, it is going to be fun.
Other
Ways You Can Help
Spread
the word and tell your friends about the film. Share our Facebook and
Indiegogo links, and follow us on Twitter. Check back to the page for
updates. And thank you!
Team Credentials
Joanna Kiernan, Director
and Producer
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is a filmmaker and award winning documentary editor. Her
documentary work includes the ground breaking PBS series
Art 21 presenting contemporary artists;
Breaking the Silence - Children's Stories, in which children bare
witness to their survival in abusive homes;
Journey
from Zanskar, the story of Buddhist monks leading a group of children
across the Himalayas for a Tibetan education in India;
Frontline:
War of Ideas a unique look at the rise of Arab media; Azul, a feature documentary tracing the Nicaraguan revolution in
poetry; Home Less Home an independent
feature in which the homeless speak for themselves ; and the PBS series African American Lives. Her directorial work includes Dream-Work, Narrative Moves, and The Italian
Trip.
Joanna studied painting and
film at London’s St. Martin's School of Art. She came to the United States as a
graduate student in filmmaking at U.C. San Diego––and has lived in the U.S.
ever since.
Brad Fuller Co-Producer was Associate Producer on Thin Blue Line, post production supervisor on Fog of War, and editor on the documentaries Vernon Florida, Brief History of Time, Countdown to Zero, Two Hands: The Leon Fleischer Story, and the dramatic features Nil by Mouth and Interview With The Assassin, along with many other credits.
Composer Blake Leyh's
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prominent credits include composing original scores for the films of Kirby Dick (including the Oscar-nominated
Twist of Faith and
SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist), the award winning documentaries
Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Knee Deep, and
The Most Dangerous Man in America. Blake was music supervisor and composer on all five seasons of HBO's
The Wire, and music supervisor on
Treme.
Consultant Steve Reich is a producer and writer at Rigler Creative. He has also written and produced at Randall Productions, National Geographic and NOVA.
Additional Photography Sam Fuller
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Graphics Jay
Yao (Betur Design)
The Perks
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Examples on Janz drawings from booklets he has made.
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The JANZ Deer T-Shirt
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Limited Edition BISOMAN T-Shirt
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Timbre Lobo, signed verso 2008, Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 18X22"