The guy had a huge influence on my life. His designs were what got me into most of the visual things I care about today. Thanks.
I remember buying the large format Necronomicon book when i was waaaay too young. I was amazed at the time the guys in the shop let me buy it . . . . The man is a legend and his work will live-on for a very long time in film, print and sculpture. R.I.P.
I remember showing my Giger book to my commercial art teacher in high school. All he wanted to talk about was the balls that it took to spray white for the reflections of tubes/pipes. His legend shall live on. RIP
Sad to mark the passing of another legend. Along with names like Frazetta and Moebius, HR Giger was one of the keystone figures that, for me at least, defined the genre of fantasy and sci-fi artwork. I know the word get tossed around all too frequently, but he truly was a visionary. There is no one that did anything remotely like that before and his world-building around a core design was on the level of Tolkien. I'd challenge anyone to find something like the Alien design in another pop culture medium that has the same staying power and impact over 35 years. His art may not have been for everybody and might not have garnered the recognition it deserved, but no one can debate its sheer mastery and uniqueness. And really, by making stuff on the periphery of the art world and challenging people's ideas, staying true to one's own vision, isn't that the real definition of a great artist? Thank you for all of your contributions Mr. Giger. RIP.
I first encountered his work in Omni magazine in 1978 and was happily "damaged" for life. Adjectives like "visionary" and "disturbing" are understandably most often invoked to describe his work but my favorite is "Surrealist." His impact and influence will always be with us.
H.R.Giger's art was like a breath of tomb air in the dayglow 1980s when I first encountered it. I was dimly aware of his work on Alien, and like Dean I found a lot of his work in old issues of Omni. Growing up in a fairly strict Catholic home, he was my first real introduction to transgressive art. It blew my mind and I ended up hooked on his art for life, seeking out his books, posters and other ephemera. I went through a long period of trying to ape his style in my own drawings and paintings, but as I was a child and had not found either my voice or my own deep well of darkness to draw from, I could only play at the grotesque. Even so, I feel like it opened doors for me, creative and otherwise. Finding out about H.R.Giger changed the way I thought about everything. It gave me permission to think about darkness, horror, and sex. And for that I am eternally grateful. He will be missed.
My first encounter w/ his work was this album cover, which blew my mind as a kid (image not mine) I wish his work on Dune had come to the big screen: RIP
I don't remember how I first became aware of him, but I remember going to Powell's shortly after and buying a book of his work. I seem to recall reading a recounting of him taking a few paintings through customs and the customs officer stopped him to ask where he had taken the photos, and didn't him when told they were paintings! Now I want to go dig up old sketch books at my mom's house to see all of my attempts to draw like Giger!
Local graf legend Omen did a great tribute piece that I thought was worth sharing with you here. RIP H.R. Giger par nefasth, sur Flickr
if you haven't seen jodorowski's dune, you gotta. giger talks about his work on the would-be film and jodorowski comments on why he chose him and how he was, among a bunch of other cool and interesting people/facts
I checked that piece out on your flickr, really well done. Captures the artistry as well as the sorrow at losing Giger. I really want to see the doc, as this is one of those legends I have been fascinated with. There is some touching on it and all the connections between them in the Moebius documentary as well, but I am really looking forward to getting more details (and seeing concept stuff).
Funny, but SoS just posted something about Genesis P-Orridge in the whatever section... anyone else think he and Giger look alike?
http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/jodo...irs-ari-folman-wants-to-make-jodorowskys-dune I'm interested to see how this plays out...
