Behind the Couch

This month saw the release of a new book on the life and work of actress, artist, musician and writer Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. The book, edited and compiled by Filippo Brunamonti, boasts a collection of interviews and articles focusing on her diverse work. 'Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni (actress, painter, singer-songwriter, writer) is the fascinating protagonist of the book Coralina: Life is Art / Art is Life, published in a prestigious bilingual edition (English and Italian). Young journalist Filippo Brunamonti has collected exclusive interviews and essays by illustrious directors, artists, writers and critics (Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Mariano Baino, Mick Garris, Irene Miracle, Claudio Simonetti, Tim Lucas, Luca Barnabé and many others) that bear witness to an extraordinary respect and admiration for this internationally renowned artist who has fans worldwide. The volume, in the words of its editor, is an authentic act of love towards Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, born and re...

Independent, daring and fiercely intelligent, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni  is not only an award-winning actress strongly associated with European horror cinema, but a multimedia artist who explores dark, fantastical themes throughout her work. She also writes, performs and records her own music; music that is imbued with the same dark drama and mysticism that seeps from her paintings. And then there's her film work with legendary European horror directors such as Pupi Avati, Lamberto Bava and, of course, Dario Argento. With roles in the likes of  Demons 2, Opera, Phantom of the Opera  and Mother of Tears , Coralina has claimed that she 'comes to life' in her death scenes. She kindly made time to chat with Behind the Couch about her film work, art, music and  forthcoming biography . From what I have seen of your artwork, it is quite dark and abstract. Is it fair to say that you are drawn to darker subject matter, artistically? Being drawn to darker subjects i...