Evan Mather (born 25 February 1970) is an American landscape architect, urban designer, and filmmaker. He is primarily known for his work in the genre of web film [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] specifically the reconfiguration of personal histories [6] and exploration of memory landscapes. [7]
The most successful web-stream films, of course, are made with the format in mind. American film-maker Evan Mather's work, such as Icarus of Pittsburgh (2002), is a good example: densely packed with visual and aural information, his films seem made to be watched intently, in isolation and cocooned by headphones. [8]
Mather was born in New Orleans and spent his childhood in Baton Rouge. He is a second-cousin of A Confederacy of Dunces author John Kennedy Toole. In 1993 he received a degree in landscape architecture from Louisiana State University. In 1995 he started the online video site Hand Crafted Films as a forum to experiment with the self-distribution of short films via the Internet. He gained early notoriety [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] for his animated short films featuring Star Wars action figures. Most recently his films have focused on design and architectural issues, notably his 2009 documentary short film A Necessary Ruin about a geodesic dome ostensibly designed by Buckminster Fuller and its raison d'etre in Baton Rouge. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] A 2011 advocacy film, A Plea For Modernism, attempted to save a historic modernist elementary school in New Orleans. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] Mather's first feature film, From Sea To Shining Sea, was funded by Kickstarter [27] and premiered at the National Building Museum in 2014. [28] In 2017, Evan Mather was elevated to the ASLA Council of Fellows. [29] In Fall 2021, his documentary essay film Sanctum was awarded a Professional Communications Award of Honor from the ASLA. [30]
Year | English Title | Genre | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars | Animation (Stop Motion) | Profiled by Henry Jenkins. [31] |
1998 | Godzilla Versus Disco Lando | Animation (Stop Motion) | Screened at Cinequest, [32] Winner: "Best Animation", Microcinefest. [33] |
1999 | Kung Fu Kenobi's Big Adventure [34] [35] | Animation (Stop Motion) | Screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 1999. |
1999 | Vert [36] | Mockumentary | First short film shot on digital video. |
1999 | Les Pantless Menace [37] | Animation (Stop Motion) | First animated short film using digital video. |
1999 | Buena Vista Fight Club | Animation | Screened at FIFI 2000 (2nd Edition Festival International du Film de L'Internet), Lille. |
2000 | Fansom the Lizard [38] | Animation | Subject of RES magazine profile; screened on Sundance Channel; Winner: "Best Animated Short Film", 2001 1 Reel Film Festival; [39] Winner: "Best Animated Video", Microcinefest; [40] screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 2001. [41] |
2001 | AIrplane Glue [42] [43] [44] [45] | Comedy drama | Winner at SeNef 2001, Seoul. [46] |
2001 | "Red Vines" [47] | Animation, Music Video | Music video for Aimee Mann from "Bachelor No.2". |
2002 | Icarus of Pittsburgh [48] [49] [50] | Mockumentary | Screened at 2003 Sundance Film Festival. [51] [52] [53] |
2003 | "Pavlov's Bell" [54] [55] | Animation, Music Video | Music video for Aimee Mann from "Lost In Space". |
2003 | Bodybags [56] | Comedy drama | Created for 2003 1 Reel Film Festival. |
2004 | A Fool's Errand [57] | Mockumentary | |
2004 | My Big Fat Independent Movie | Animation | Animated title sequence for feature film. |
2005 | The Image of the City [58] | Essay | Adaptation of Kevin Lynch text. |
2005 | Expressions | Documentary | Documentary portrait of a landscape architect. |
2006 | Scenic Highway [59] | Essay | Autobiographical Baton Rouge travelogue; Screened at SXSW 2007. [60] |
2007 | So What? | Documentary | 2008 ASLA Communications Honor Award. [61] |
2009 | A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome | Documentary | Funded by grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts; [62] narrated by Frances Anderton; premiered at National Building Museum. [63] [64] |
2010 | The Patron Saint of Television | Animation | Animated story about Saint Clare of Assisi. |
2010 | Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) California | Essay | Created for Los Angeles magazine. |
2010 | 39-A: Een Reisverhaal Van Eindeloos (A Travel Tale of Interminable) | Essay | Travelogue to Kennedy Space Center; Winner "Best Documentary" Webcuts.11, Berlin; Screened at SXSW 2011; [65] [66] Dallas International Film Festival. [67] |
2011 | A Plea For Modernism | Documentary | Narrated by Wendell Pierce. [68] |
2011 | Telly | Animation | Funded by Kickstarter; [69] Screened at Cinequest [70] and HollyShorts Film Festival. [71] |
2012 | I Am An Artist | Animation (Stop Motion) | |
2012 | Building a Sustainable Future | Documentary | Documentary about the Burbank Water and Power EcoCampus. |
2012 | Olympic & Western: A Primer on the Typographic Order and an Argument for its Proper Usage in the Built Environment | Essay | Screened at Cinequest. [72] |
2012 | 12 Minutes to Vegas | Time-lapse | First time-lapse video experiment. |
2013 | From Sea to Shining Sea [73] [74] | Time-lapse | First feature film; time-lapse video across United States. [75] |
2014 | S,M,L,XLA: A Time-Lapse Circumnavigation of Los Angeles [76] | Time-lapse | Time-lapse circumnavigation of Los Angeles. |
2015 | Hringvegur | Time-lapse | Second feature film; time-lapse circumnavigation of Iceland. [77] |
2016 | Sic Erat Scriptum [78] | Essay | Screened at 2016 International Festival of Landscape Architecture, Canberra. [79] |
2017 | My Two Kentuckys | Essay | Travelogue through Midwest via TV Guide . |
2017 | How to Read an Island | Essay | Aerial land use interpretation of Pelee Island. |
2018 | World Famous in Poland: Evan Mather and the Making of "Hannah and Her Midichlorians" | Essay | Animated adaptation of Hannah and Her Sisters using Star Wars action figures. |
2019 | Looking for Mister Solo | Essay | |
2019 | A Missal for Rapid City | Essay | Creation of TV Guide for Rapid City, South Dakota during Apollo 11. |
2020 | Sanctum | Essay | Documentary essay about the landscape architectural transformation of Magic Johnson Park and its impact on the adjacent Willowbrook community; 2021 ASLA Communications Honor Award. [30] |