Hans Ruedi Giger (/ˈɡiːɡər/GHEE-gər;German:[ˈɡiːɡɐ]; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was aSwiss artist best known for hisairbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as "biomechanical". He was part of thespecial effects team that won anAcademy Award for the visual design ofRidley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror filmAlien, and was responsible for creating thexenomorph alien itself.[1] His work is on permanent display at the H. R. Giger Museum inGruyères, Switzerland. His style has been adapted to many forms of media, includingalbum covers, furniture, andmusic videos.
Giger was born in 1940 inChur, the capital city ofGraubünden, the largest and easternmostSwiss canton. His father, a pharmacist, viewed art as a "breadless profession" and strongly encouraged him to enterpharmacy. He moved toZürich in 1962 where he studied architecture andindustrial design at the School of Applied Arts until 1970.[2]
Giger's first success occurred when H. H. Kunz, co-owner of Switzerland's first poster publishing company, printed and distributed Giger's first posters, beginning in 1969.[3]
In 1998, Giger acquired theSaint-Germain Castle inGruyères, Switzerland, which now houses the H.R. Giger Museum, a permanent repository of his work.[8]
Giger had a relationship with Swiss actressLi Tobler until she died by suicide in 1975.[9] Tobler's image appears in many of his paintings. He married Mia Bonzanigo in 1979; they divorced a year and a half later.
Giger lived and worked in Zürich with his second wife, Carmen Maria Scheifele Giger, who is the director of the H. R. Giger Museum.[10]
On 12 May 2014, Giger died in a Zürich hospital after suffering injuries from a fall.[11][12][13][14]
Giger started with small ink drawings before progressing to oil paintings. For most of his career, he worked predominantly inairbrush, creating monochromatic canvasses depicting surreal,nightmarish dreamscapes. He also worked with pastels, markers and ink.[2]
Giger's most distinctive stylistic innovation was that of a representation of human bodies and machines in cold,interconnected relationships, which he described as "biomechanical". His main influences were paintersDado,[15]Ernst Fuchs, andSalvador Dalí. He was introduced to Dali by painterRobert Venosa. Giger was also influenced by Polish sculptorStanislaw Szukalski, and by paintersAustin Osman Spare andMati Klarwein,[16] and was a personal friend ofTimothy Leary. He studied interior and industrial design at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich from 1962 to 1965, and made his first paintings asart therapy.[2]
Entrance to Giger Bar in ChurIbanez H. R. Giger signature bass and guitars
Giger directed a number of films, includingSwiss Made (1968),Tagtraum (1973),Giger's Necronomicon (1975).
Giger created furniture designs, particularly theHarkonnen Capo Chair for a film of the novelDune that was to be directed byAlejandro Jodorowsky. Many years later,David Lynch directed the film, using only rough concepts by Giger. Giger had wished to work with Lynch,[17] as he stated in one of his books that Lynch's filmEraserhead was closer than even Giger's own films to realizing his vision.[2]
Giger also applied his biomechanical style to interior design. One "Giger Bar" appeared in Tokyo, but the realization of his designs was a great disappointment to him, since the Japanese organization behind the venture did not wait for his final designs, and instead used Giger's rough preliminary sketches. For that reason Giger disowned the Tokyo bar.[18] The two Giger Bars in his native Switzerland, in Gruyères and Chur, were built under Giger's close supervision and they accurately reflect his original concepts. AtThe Limelight in Manhattan, Giger's artwork was licensed to decorate the VIP room, the uppermost chapel of the landmarked church, but it was never intended to be a permanent installation and bore no similarity to the bars in Switzerland. The arrangement was terminated after two years when the Limelight closed.[19]
Giger's art has greatly influenced tattooists andfetishists worldwide. Under a licensing dealIbanez guitars released an H. R. Giger signature series: the Ibanez ICHRG2, anIbanez Iceman, features "NY City VI", the Ibanez RGTHRG1 has "NY City XI" printed on it, the S Series SHRG1Z has a metal-coated engraving of "Biomechanical Matrix" on it, and a 4-string SRX bass, SRXHRG1, has "N.Y. City X" on it.[2]
Giger is often referred to in popular culture, especially in science fiction andcyberpunk.William Gibson (who wrote an early script forAlien 3) seems particularly fascinated: A minor character inVirtual Light, Lowell, is described as havingNew York XXIV tattooed across his back, and inIdoru a secondary character,Yamazaki, describes the buildings ofnanotech Japan as Giger-esque.[citation needed]
Alien (designed, among other things, theAlien creature, "The Derelict" and the "Space Jockey")[20]
Aliens (credited for the creation of the creature only)
Alien 3 (designed the dog-like Alien bodyshape, plus a number of unused concepts, many mentioned on the special features disc ofAlien 3, despite not being credited in the theatrical version)
Prometheus (The 2012 film includes "The Derelict" spacecraft and the "Space Jockey" designs from the firstAlien film, as well as a "Temple" design from the failed JodorowskyDune project and original extraterrestrial murals created exclusively forPrometheus, based in conceptual art fromAlien. UnlikeAlien Resurrection, thePrometheus film credited H. R. Giger with the original designs.)[24]
Alien: Covenant (the 2017 film includes the Alien creature, "The Derelict" spacecraft and the "Space Jockey" designs from the firstAlien film. It also showcases the Proto Bloodburster / Neomorph in David's lab, which was designed but unused forPrometheus.)
Korn'sJonathan Davis commissioned Giger to design and sculpt a microphone stand, with the requirement that it be biomechanical, erotic, and movable. The contract allowed for five aluminium microphone stands to be made. Davis had received three of the bio-mechanical microphone stands, and Giger kept the other two, one for permanent display at the H.R. Giger Museum and another for his gallery exhibitions. The design of the microphone stand was later adapted to Giger'sNubian Queen, transforming it into a fine art sculpture.[25]
Helped to design the first professional video clip of "Böhse Onkelz" called "Dunkler Ort" (dark location) from their albumEin böses Märchen ... aus tausend finsteren Nächten, which was released in 2000.
Ibanez Guitars released a series of H. R. Giger Signature Models with artwork on the body.[26]
In addition to his awards, Giger was recognized by a variety of festivals and institutions. On the one year anniversary of his death, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the seriesThe Unseen Cinema of HR Giger in May 2015.[29]
Since 2018,Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival has presented the H.R. Giger Narcisse Award for Best Feature Film. The award trophy was designed by H.R. Giger. The image of the Narcisse award has become the festival’s logo.[30]
