Valerie Estelle Frankel

Artists Onscreen Valerie Estelle Frankel

Artists appear across television and film in many roles. They create graffiti, spark revolutions, or even cast spells. Free spirits like Bree Larson in Unicorn Store or the sexy Leonardo DiCaprio on Titanic showcase art's delightful side, while genius forgers and savants share their brilliance on the small screen. Of course, some parodies and sitcoms hilariously emphasize how a toddler's finger paintings or a discarded bottle of Windex can end up selling for thousands in gallery shows. Art also has its dark side, as murderers on CSI or Law & Order sketch their victims and lay them out artistically. Likewise, Van Gogh battles his depression and illness in many adaptations, some sympathetic and insightful. Still more stories show painting, sculpting, and drawing as a path to healing through catharsis. So how do artists come across: wise, pretentious, insightful, self-absorbed, innovative, poor, classy, hot? There are many paths, all celebrated in the myriad of worlds onscreen.