Week #3: Marisa Howenstine, Photographer

Mythology Meets Marble and a Parachute Dress

One day while trolling through the section of Robertson Boulevard that's equally known for its celebrity sightings and overly-hyped stores and restaurants (The Ivy – one word: UGH!), I visited the only boutique that's worth a dime – AllSaints Spitalfields, based out of London. My heart stopped upon finding the most stunning dress draped on a mannequin. Appropriately named "The Parachute Dress," it was made from a bazillion yards of fabric and was literally the Rubik's Cube of dresses to put on with all its strings and knots to adjust. And yet I knew I had to make a photograph of it, despite needing two assistants to fit the dress on my model during shoot day.

What I loved about the dress was its clever contemporary nod to an ancient toga. I had concepts running through my head of creating a modern-day mythological character wearing the dress. I thought about various tragic characters – both fictional and historical – and recalled the Biblical character from the Sodom and Gomorrah story, who turned into a pillar of salt upon looking back at her corrupt city burning to the ground. Instead of salt, why not create a character turning into marble?

My incredibly talented scenic painter, Malcom Moorman, was up for the challenge of marbleizing an entire white set with a slew of various paints and tints. Coupled with his equally talented assistant, Michael Hopkins, the two spent over three days marbleizing the background, flooring, and columns. It was truly a work of art to witness, and when Malcom finished marbleizing my model's arms, I was blown away by the beauty of it all.

There's always that moment where you know your crew has done their damnedest to deliver, and I felt a lot of pressure to ensure that my image paralleled the perfection of my "Heart of Stone" set. I spent several hours with my assistants to get the lighting just right. I wanted it to mimic the feel of being in a museum, and my model had to look as close to a statue as possible, to fit in with the concept.

This image is quite subjective in its meaning – is the model at peace with her fate, or not? I love leaving my work open-ended and encouraging my viewers to create their own interpretations.