Robert Janz at Vision Fest

Robert Janz, taping a wall at Vision Fest 18, June, 16, 2013

Artist of the ephemeral Robert Janz was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 18th Vision Fest in Brooklyn over the weekend. Robert is the first visual artist to be honored at Vision Fest, which celebrates the free jazz tradition, or what might be called post-Coltrane and post-Ayler, avant-garde, African-American spiritual jazz. (Or might not. That's a pretty clunky moniker I just invented.)

Nothing is more ephemeral than live jazz -- especially free jazz. The moments of epiphany are in the wind, and imprint themselves mainly as impressions on the soul. So Robert was a brilliant choice. Throughout the performance venue (Roulette: an old, repurposed theater), Robert constructed, deconstructed, and morphed images of figures and beasts, all of whom call out to us, each in its own way, from the dawn of Man. The photo above shows him in action. His technique here is to "paint" with tape, which is attached and reattached in various configurations during the course of an evening, over the course of a few days, or whatever circumstances call for.

Here's Robert's artist statement:

My focus is archaic, image making at the origins of humanity and art. The imagery comes from the earliest art, from the childhood of humanity. Contact with the deepest Past expands our understanding of our inheritance and its potential.

Well said. The best way to see Robert's work is through his Janzwork website. It provides links to the blogspot sites he creates for each of his projects or modes of expression. Here are some more images from the walls at Roulette.