Art in the movies: the extras

Not all the art works you see in movies are by well known artists, well, hardly any of them in fact. In this medium art serves up a quick signal as to social status, context, personality as well as simply livening up dead spots on the set. Most of it is either hired or created by artists who specialise in fine art as props. Their web sites are crammed with film credits like any other Hollywood services site.

Anne Silber is a good example. Her work has appeared in The Departed, The Bucket List and Minority Report. She mainly makes silk screen prints with the movie business a bit of a sideline. And she ha the key skill down pat: not to upstage the actors or the scene they are setting.

Image: Jack Nicholson not being upstaged under Silber’s print during the filming of The Bucket List