Evan Mather

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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]

Background[edit]

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]

Filmography[edit]

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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kahney, Leander (2002-06-15). "Amateur Auteur Likes It That Way". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  2. ^ Stables, Kate (2001-06-30). "The best of July's cyber cinema". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  3. ^ Andersen, Soren (August 28, 2000). "Moviemaking in Cyberspace". Tacoma News-Tribune.
  4. ^ Mirapaul, Matthew (January 21, 1999). "Making Movies, the Do-It-Yourself Way, on the Web". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Brabham, Dennis (May 2001). "Our Takes: Evan Mather". IFC Rant.,
  6. ^ Clayfield, Matthew. "Digital Histoire(s): The Cyber-cinema of Evan Mather". Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  7. ^ "Event> Archi-Filmmaker Evan Mather In Focus". Archpaper.com. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  8. ^ J. Bell (May 2004). "Eat My Shorts". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute: 26.
  9. ^ Pemberton, Daniel (August 1998). "May The Farce Be With You". Esquire.
  10. ^ "Not My Starr War". Newsweek. September 28, 1998.
  11. ^ "Evan's Star Wars Cinema". Details. December 1998.
  12. ^ Nickell, Joe Ashbrook (1999-04-24). "Lando Versus Godzilla?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  13. ^ "Jedi Farce". Entertainment Weekly. May 7, 1999.
  14. ^ Lavoisard, Stéphane (December 1998). "Evan's Star Wars Cinema". Micro Dingo.
  15. ^ "Evan's Star Wars Cinema". Ministry (aka Ministry of Sound). December 1998.
  16. ^ Stern, Elias (March 14, 2001). "Sei Dein Eigener Held". Jetzt.
  17. ^ "Film: 'A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome'". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  18. ^ "Demolished Bucky Fuller Dome Subject of New Documentary | 2010-04-29 | Architectural Record". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  19. ^ Roedel, Jeff (March 2010). "Looking Inside a Diamond". 225.
  20. ^ "Midcentury Architecture Experiments on Film". Metropolis. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  21. ^ ""A Necessary Ruin" Documents the Demise of an Industrial Classic". KCRW. 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  22. ^ "A School on Stilts". Metropolis. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  23. ^ "Film: A Plea For Modernism". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  24. ^ Gillin, Jaime. "A Plea from New Orleans". Dwell. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  25. ^ "Video> A Cry for Modernism in NOLA". Archpaper.com. 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  26. ^ Bey, Lee. "1950s school could become belated casuality [sic] of Katrina". WBEZ. Retrieved 2019-09-01.
  27. ^ Britt, Aaron. "Kickstarter of the Week: From Sea to Shining Sea". Dwell. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  28. ^ "National Building Museum Screens Film by LSU Landscape Alumnus Evan Mather". COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN. 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  29. ^ "2017 Fellows Profiles | asla.org". www.asla.org. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  30. ^ a b "2021 ASLA Professional Awards".
  31. ^ Jenkins, Henry (2006). Convergence culture : where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0814742815. OCLC 64594290.
  32. ^ "EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF CINEQUEST IN SAN JOSE". Film Threat. 1999-03-15. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  33. ^ "MICROCINEFEST: BALTIMORE'S UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL". Film Threat. 1998-11-16. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  34. ^ "BLOWUP: NEW VISIONS 2003 – FESTIVAL REEL". Film Threat. 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  35. ^ "On a Galaxy of Sites, 'Star Wars' Fever Rises". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  36. ^ "VERT". Film Threat. 2001-07-23. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  37. ^ "LES PANTLESS MENACE". Film Threat. 2001-03-03. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  38. ^ Draper, John. "Digital Habitat: Evan Mather". RES. Vol. 3, no. 3.
  39. ^ "ANIMATOR EVAN MATHER WINS BEST SHORT". Film Threat. 2001-09-29. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  40. ^ "MICROCINEFEST UNLEASHES WINNERS". Film Threat. 2000-11-11. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  41. ^ "Evan Mather". IFFR. 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  42. ^ Menzies, Tank (2001-09-01). "Airplane Glue". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  43. ^ "MICROCINEMA'S INDEPENDENT EXPOSURE RETURNS". Film Threat. 2001-01-21. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  44. ^ ""AIRPLANE GLUE" SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT". Film Threat. 2001-01-10. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  45. ^ Stables, Kate (2001-06-30). "The best of July's cyber cinema". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  46. ^ "Forward Migration: Indie filmmaker, SeeBeale.com". Macworld. 2001-12-15. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  47. ^ Wells, Helen (Spring 2002). "Swinging Vine". RES. Vol. 5, no. 1.
  48. ^ "MICROCINEMA'S INDEPENDENT EXPOSURE – SEPTEMBER 2002". Film Threat. 2002-09-25. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  49. ^ ""ICARUS" AT ATOM". Film Threat. 2002-10-04. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  50. ^ Stables, Kate (2002-11-01). "Cyber cinema: November 2002". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  51. ^ "LET THE SUNDANCE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL BEGIN". Film Threat. 2002-12-17. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  52. ^ ""ICARUS" WINS THIRD PLACE IN 2003 SUNDANCE ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL". Film Threat. 2003-01-28. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  53. ^ "Reel World: 1/24/03". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  54. ^ "Fresh from the Festivals: April 2004's Film Reviews". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  55. ^ "PAVLOV'S BELL". Film Threat. 2003-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  56. ^ "BODYBAGS". Film Threat. 2003-08-24. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  57. ^ "A FOOL'S ERRAND". Film Threat. 2004-10-28. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  58. ^ "THE IMAGE OF THE CITY". Film Threat. 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  59. ^ "SCENIC HIGHWAY". Film Threat. 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  60. ^ "2007 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SHORT FILMS LINE-UP". Film Threat. 2007-02-15. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  61. ^ "ASLA 2008 Professional Awards". www.asla.org. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  62. ^ "Graham Foundation > Grantees > Evan Mather". www.grahamfoundation.org. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  63. ^ "Rise of the Archi-doc". Archpaper.com. 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  64. ^ "LEARN ABOUT "A NECESSARY RUIN" WITH FILMMAKER EVAN MATHER". Film Threat. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  65. ^ "2011 SXSW FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES MIDNIGHTERS, SXFANTASTIC FEATURES AND SHORT FILMS LINEUP". Film Threat. 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  66. ^ "SXSW 2011: HE DIDN'T SLAY ONE DRAGON, MAN! MEGA-UPDATE FROM THE FESTIVAL". Film Threat. 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  67. ^ "2011 DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL SCHEDULE". Film Threat. 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  68. ^ Bear, Rob (2011-05-24). "Treme Star Wendell Pierce Makes a Plea For Modernism". Curbed. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  69. ^ "Telly". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  70. ^ "Shorts Program 4: Animated Worlds | Cinequest". cinequest.org. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  71. ^ "2012 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL LINEUP". Film Threat. 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  72. ^ "Olympic And Western: A Primer On The Tyopgraphic Order And An Argument For Its Proper Usage In The Built Environment | Cinequest". cinequest.org. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  73. ^ Britt, Aaron. "Kickstarter of the Week: From Sea to Shining Sea". Dwell. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  74. ^ "Architecture Filmmaker Wants to Take You Cross Country". Archpaper.com. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  75. ^ "From Sea To Shining Sea". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  76. ^ Gilmartin, Wendy (2014-07-02). "Young Designers Create Interactive Experiences at the A+D Museum". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  77. ^ "Hringvegur: A Time-Lapse Circumnavigation of Iceland". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  78. ^ Mortice, Zach (January 5, 2017). "Prehistoric Palimpsests". Landscape Architecture Magazine.
  79. ^ "AnthropoScene Short Film Competition Winners". www.aila.org.au. Retrieved 2019-08-23.

External links[edit]