Meet Evan Black | Production Designer & Set Decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Evan Black and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evan, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
The end goal has always been to stand behind a body of work that I am incredibly proud of. With filmmaking, each project is a piece of art and a snapshot of who I was as a designer and artist in that moment. I see myself building longevity within the film industry, and no doubt that will come with countless films to have designed. At the end of all of it, I want to see that the part I had in creating those pieces of art made some sort of tangible change for the better in people. I want my art and my craft to inspire others to go out and create something whacky and beautiful themselves. Oh, and one or two Academy Awards for Production Design wouldn’t hurt the cause!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The main tenet that colors everything I do as a designer is holding true to the beauty and life in people’s stories. I strongly believe that our experiences, or the experiences of characters written for film, hold so much truth about this world. I think those truths should be discovered and shared in the most magical, beautiful ways – which is where my expertise comes in! I absolutely love stories based in magical realism or a heightened sense of reality. I love bringing a whimsical, campy touch to the sets I design, and I always begin my artistic process with a reminder of my own queerness and how that perspective can shape the world I am creating. Being proudly queer is a strength as an artist and I consistently look for ways to promote the queer people and the queer stories in my life to bring about better art and film.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Where to even begin? The trip would most likely consist of bar hopping between the neighborhoods – Silverlake, Echo Park, Los Feliz and Highland Park. There’s truly nothing a margarita buzz can’t solve. Other than that I only have one demand, and that is a lunch at KazuNori, the absolute best handrolls you will ever have in your life.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There is no shortage of people who I could thank for giving me the chances that led me to where I’ve come, but I have to dedicate it all to my partner, Oz, who has journeyed through the triumphs and pitfalls of the film world with me. There is no one who has uplifted and encouraged me more than him, and without the extreme flexibility and understanding he’s shown when I am in “work mode,” I’m not quite sure where I would be!

Website: https://www.evanvblack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evanisthenewblack/?hl=en