Lindsay Lohan: Artist Inspiration, Tragic Addict, or Both?

(Courtesy: Richard Phillips)

Lindsay Lohan may be neck-deep in never-ending legal dramas stemming from years of substance abuse, but there’s at least one filmmaker out there attempting to put the troubled star in a glamorous light.

In a 90-second "motion portrait" entitled “Lindsay Lohan,” famed American artist Richard Phillips “explores the legacies of classical portraiture in relation to contemporary culture’s mediated representations.” The film, presented by New York’s Gagosian Gallery and currently showing at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Venice, Italy in conjunction with the Venice Biennale, shows the 24-year-old engaged in a “reformulation of classic performance tropes.”

Inspired by two Hollywood icons and set against a classic Malibu backdrop, Phillips depicts Lohan as a silent, sultry beauty.

“Like Liv Ulman's character in Ingmar Bergman's ‘Persona’ and Bridgett Bardot in Godard's ‘Contempt,’ I wanted to create a portrait of Lindsay at this transformational moment in her life that both affirmed the power of her incomparable beauty combined with her talent, and yet accounted for the emotionally vulnerable reality of someone who has chosen to live their life in art,” Phillips told FOX411’s Pop Tarts, adding that Lohan was “really happy” with the final result.

Phillips went so far as to call the “Mean Girls” star a professional “inspiration.”

“Our collaboration was intended to focus on a message of positive intent in a context of artistic endeavor. When I met Lindsay on set that day she arrived on time and worked with remarkable skill and determination to get all of the shots we had planned for in the short time we had together,” he said. “Her professionalism and willingness to see all of the work through was an inspiration to everyone on set.”

Nonetheless, the whole idea of Lohan being hailed as a subject of timeless art doesn’t sit well with everyone.

“If we keep catering to the actor or the title, then he/she will be another entertainer that just died. If we keep catering we as a society will kill her,” said Dennis Brown of the Los Angeles-based NESS Counseling Center. “Here you have an entertainer who chooses an industry who’s industry is based on attention. I think for now the media hype everything that is going on keeps fueling the situation. I’m not saying she shouldn’t be successful, but for me the priority should be when she’s healthy she should live to a ripe old age. At what cost is she willing to be successful?”

Pop culture expert Rachelle Friberg concurred that glamorizing a self-destructive star can have some dangerous ramifications.

“Richard Phillips’ use of Lohan as a subject in these paintings does nothing but help to glorify Lohan’s problems with addiction. Phillips is a highly respected individual in his field. It would have been in the Gagosian Gallery’s best interest to forgo using Ms. Lohan as a subject in this exhibit,” she said. “The use of Lohan’s images adds fuel to the fire and does nothing to teach an important lesson about the devastating effects and pain that come from addiction. Why are we glamorizing addiction? What is the entertainment value? In using Lohan’s image, this seems to validate the mistakes she has made.”