Stockland Martel

It’s amazing how far artists are willing to go to bring their ideas to life. For his latest personal project, “The Unfortunate Moment of Misunderstanding,” Jim Fiscus wanted to tell his dreamed-up tale of a wood carver who crafts life-size dolls of the same woman over and over again, each time meticulously creating a new wardrobe for his handmade beauties. It’s the story of an obsessed artist, and Fiscus would have to be just as driven as his fictional woodworker if he was going to bring it to life.

Fiscus envisioned “Misunderstanding” as a photographic short story, with each image richly detailed and exceptionally narrative. As he often does for his commercial work, Fiscus made precise sketches for each frame of his photographic novella. Then, he and his crew crafted all the necessary elements from scratch. With the exception of a few 1930s and 40s pieces rented from a movie-studio wardrobe department, each costume was designed and sewn in-house, and all of it was created to look edgy and chic but also timeless. Fiscus wanted the photographs to have the feel of a fashion shoot—he’s well known for conceptual portraiture but is keen to show what he could bring to a fashion assignment.

A frame from Jim Fiscus' "The Unfortunate Moment of Misunderstanding"

Fiscus also incorporated CGI into the project. “CGI is a very powerful tool,” explains Fiscus, “but you still have to have a vision. We sewed every damn stitch of the wardrobe. This project is homemade and a true labor of love.” And with that, he goes on to credit those who labored alongside him: production designers Bradley Garlock and Dino DeGuiceis; wardrobe stylist David Norbury; makeup artist Stephen Dimmick; and hair stylist Isaac Davidson. The CGI was a collaboration with Impact Digital, and Eric Rasmussen was the producer for the shoot, which took place in New York. Retouching was handled by Imaginary Lines in Terrell, Texas.

Miraculously, the project turned out just as Fiscus had imagined it. “It’s exactly what I saw I my head,” he says. Things didn’t turn out quite as rosily for the dark-souled woodworker, though. At the end of the story, he gets a disturbing phone call and angrily throws his cigarette into a rubbish pail. His studio, and all his pretty dolls, goes up in flames. But has his obsession been extinguished?