Matthias Brunner's 'Magnificent Obsession' at Rome Film Fest

At the Rome Film Festival, Swiss artist Matthias Brunner presented 'Magnificent Obsession,' an installation exploring the relationship between film and literature. The work, shown for the first time in Italy, consists of four screens embedded in a bookshelf once owned by director Douglas Sirk, whose 1954 film 'Magnificent Obsession' inspired the piece. The installation features scenes from 36 films from the 1950s and 1960s, focusing on moments where books appear in actors' hands, highlighting how cinema adapts literary works. Brunner, born in 1945, began his career as a film critic and curator, and has been a film curator for Art Basel since 1992 and for Art Basel Miami since 2002. The installation was hosted at the Auditorium Parco della Musica's Studio due, open throughout the festival until October 23, 2016. It was supported by Kunsthaus Zürich, Magazzino gallery, and Beatrice Bulgari's production company In Between Art Film, which promotes films on new artistic languages. The presentation also featured a discussion with Vieri Razzini, Andrea Viliani (director of MADRE), and the artist.