Biography
Steven Vander Meer (born 1963) is an animator, graphic artist and avid home brewer. He was born and raised in LeMars, Iowa, and grew up working in the family bakery before attending the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, earning a BFA in 1985. He is an internationally known animator, having won several best animation and best music video awards at prestigious film festivals; his films have been screened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. He is a 2014 recipient of the Victor Thomas Jacoby Award. Vander Meer's films span almost three decades and have screened at numerous top-tier film festivals including Sundance, Slamdance, Raindance, Annecy International Animation Festival, Melbourne International Animation Festival, Thomas Edison Film Festival (formerly Black Maria), Cinequest and Palm Springs International Shortfest.
Vander Meer's art studio, called Old Purple Thumb Works, is located in Manila, California, on the spit between Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean. He keeps his index card drawings (numbering more than thirty-three thousand!) in this old library card catalog. Attached to the studio is an Airbnb, and guests are always offered an art studio tour.
Education
- BFA, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1985
Awards
- 2017 Best Music Video, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Boomerang
- 2017 Best International Music Video, Cork Film Festival, Boomerang
- 2017 Best Music Video, Nonplussedfest, Boomerang
- 2017 Jury's Choice Award, Black Marial Film Festival, Boomerang
- 2014 Victor Thomas Jacoby Award, Humboldt Area Foundation, animation
- 2014 Jury's Choice 1st Prize, Black Maria Film Festival, Salmon Deadly Sins
- 2014 Best Animation, Athens International Film Festival, Salmon Deadly Sins
- 2014 Best Animated Short, Starz Denver Film Festival, Salmon Deadly Sins
- 2014 Best of the Fest, Humboldt Film Festival, Salmon Deadly Sins
- 2010 Best Animated Short, San Francisco Frozen Film Festival, More From Life
- 2010 Director's Choice, Black Maria Film Festival, More From Life
- 1989 Best Animation, Atlanta Film Festival, Arcata Brain Closet
- 1988 Award, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Arcata Brain Closet
- 1988 Award, Humboldt Film Festival, Arcata Brain Closet
- 1988 Award, Sinking Creek Film Festival, Arcata Brain Closet
Special Screenings
- National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Boomerang, 2017
- National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Salmon Deadly Sins, 2014
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, Arcata Brain Closet, 1991
- M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, Arcata Brain Closet, 1990
