A still from ‘Lindsay Lohan’ by Richard Phillips

Painter Richard Phillips delivers ‘Lindsay Lohan’ to the 54th Venice Biennale next week.The film will debut in ‘Commercial Break’, a program of artists’ videos put together by Neville Wakefield for the opening festivities in Venice.

Phillips directed the video of Lohan’s rebirth by water, shot by cinematographer Taylor Steele. As an artist, Phillips is known for ‘a certain fixation on the power of media gods and goddesses to distract us from the people they really are.’ writes T

With his Lindsay Lohan examination, Phillips is probing Lohan’s iconic status on the level of a Bardot or an Ullmann. He admits to being heavily influenced by two 1960s movie classics, Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt” and Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona,” starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, respectively.

Jean-Luc Godard’s “Contempt” Trailer

Ingmar Bergman ‘Persona’ Trailer

The 24-year-old Lohan surrendered this morning at Los Angeles’ Lynwood Jail at about 5:02 am. She was fitted with an ankle-monitoring bracelet after police determined that she qualifies for home detention. In addition to her house arrest, which ends June 29, the ‘iconic’ star must perform 480 hours of community service at a downtown LA women’s shelter and also janitorial work at the county morgue.

‘Lindsay Lohan’ | A Richard Phillips Film

Comparing ‘Lindsay Lohan’ to the earlier films that inspired it, there is a celluloid perfection to the product that is different from the original inspirations. Is this not what women have become in today’s world — more removed from our inner essence than ever?

If the focus is how much today’s culture objectifies celebrities, then the emotional distance revealed in these 90-seconds is a hollow chasm of indifference and disconnection — in its baptismal beauty. Given Lindsay’s real-life struggle, there is no reason to believe that she will remain a Venus rising as portrayed in the film.

While the short is lovely, I find that Ellen von Unwerth’s images of Lindsay Lohan for Deutsch GQ told this story equally well, more connection and much less fan fare … with one exception. EVU needed this shot by Phillips and Stelle to complete her message. This shot says it all — not the sexy woman rising out of the water. Anne