Evan Mather
# Evan Mather

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 specifically the reconfiguration of personal histories and exploration of memory landscapes.

   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.

## Background

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 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. A 2011 advocacy film, A Plea For Modernism, attempted to save a historic modernist elementary school in New Orleans. Mather's first feature film, From Sea To Shining Sea, was funded by Kickstarter and premiered at the National Building Museum in 2014. In 2017, Evan Mather was elevated to the ASLA Council of Fellows. In Fall 2021, his documentary essay film Sanctum was awarded a Professional Communications Award of Honor from the ASLA.

## Filmography

| Year | English Title | Genre | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars | Animation (Stop Motion) | Profiled by Henry Jenkins. |
| 1998 | Godzilla Versus Disco Lando | Animation (Stop Motion) | Screened at Cinequest, Winner: "Best Animation", Microcinefest. |
| 1999 | Kung Fu Kenobi's Big Adventure | Animation (Stop Motion) | Screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 1999. |
| 1999 | Vert | Mockumentary | First short film shot on digital video. |
| 1999 | Les Pantless Menace | 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 | Animation | Subject of RES magazine profile; screened on Sundance Channel; Winner: "Best Animated Short Film", 2001 1 Reel Film Festival; Winner: "Best Animated Video", Microcinefest; screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 2001. |
| 2001 | AIrplane Glue | Comedy drama | Winner at SeNef 2001, Seoul. |
| 2001 | "Red Vines" | Animation, Music Video | Music video for Aimee Mann from "Bachelor No.2". |
| 2002 | Icarus of Pittsburgh | Mockumentary | Screened at 2003 Sundance Film Festival. |
| 2003 | "Pavlov's Bell" | Animation, Music Video | Music video for Aimee Mann from "Lost In Space". |
| 2003 | Bodybags | Comedy drama | Created for 2003 1 Reel Film Festival. |
| 2004 | A Fool's Errand | Mockumentary | |
| 2004 | My Big Fat Independent Movie | Animation | Animated title sequence for feature film. |
| 2005 | The Image of the City | Essay | Adaptation of Kevin Lynch text. |
| 2005 | Expressions | Documentary | Documentary portrait of a landscape architect. |
| 2006 | Scenic Highway | Essay | Autobiographical Baton Rouge travelogue; Screened at SXSW 2007. |
| 2007 | So What? | Documentary | 2008 ASLA Communications Honor Award. |
| 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; narrated by Frances Anderton; premiered at National Building Museum. |
| 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; Dallas International Film Festival. |
| 2011 | A Plea For Modernism | Documentary | Narrated by Wendell Pierce. |
| 2011 | Telly | Animation | Funded by Kickstarter; Screened at Cinequest and HollyShorts Film Festival. |
| 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. |
| 2012 | 12 Minutes to Vegas | Time-lapse | First time-lapse video experiment. |
| 2013 | From Sea to Shining Sea | Time-lapse | First feature film; time-lapse video across United States. |
| 2014 | S,M,L,XLA: A Time-Lapse Circumnavigation of Los Angeles | Time-lapse | Time-lapse circumnavigation of Los Angeles. |
| 2015 | Hringvegur | Time-lapse | Second feature film; time-lapse circumnavigation of Iceland. |
| 2016 | Sic Erat Scriptum | Essay | Screened at 2016 International Festival of Landscape Architecture, Canberra. |
| 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. |
