In memory of H. R. Giger
So apparently the creator of one of the most influencial movie beasts of all time, the ALIEN, and mastermind behind practically everything related to this franchise, as well as the creator of hundreds if not thousands of pieces of twisted, always unsettling, yet strangely beautiful art, Hans Ruedi Giger (Pronounced 'Geeger'), born 1940, has died last Monday in a Zurich hospital (Switzerland). He suffered severe injuries to the head after accidentally falling down the stairs at his home on sunday morning, and was pronounced dead monday afternoon by the doctors.
He was a close friend to movie director Ridley Scott, won the Oscar for his art design on the first Alien film backin the 70s (And rightfully so), and also took part in the art design process of Scotts recent movie "Prometheus". Giger was supposed to do the art design of the upcoming Prometheus sequel as well. He was known for his unique artstyle, which always reminded of the merging of man and machine, but in a sick, unsettling, yet beautiful way. His works involve recurring elements such as metal bones, penises, vaginas, skulls, deformed faces and mechanical beings that you can't look away from.
"My works are not of sexual origin. Here, sexuality is mechanized, automatical. They stand above mere lust, and even more so above love. Everything intertwines with everything, tech becomes flesh, flesh becomes tech, everything is cybernetical, mutated and mutilated, not ritual, and especially not tempting."
Aside from that, he spent the last years as a creator of paintings, sculptures and furniture. About his greatest achievement, the Xenomorph, he said at the opening ceremony of the Giger Museum in Gruyere in 2005:
"I really didn't want it to look like a creature a sane person could come up with... So what does that tell about me? I didn't want the audience to say, yeah, sure that's a dude in a costume. That was not what I aimed for. It should scare the audience not as a monster, but through its mere presence, I wanted to create something that, with every inch of its body, screamed "death", a superior hunter that stalks only the places beyond your worst nightmares [...] And I think we suceeded, because Ridley did such a great job with light and dark in that movie. You don't ever see the complete creature before the end of the film. That ruined it a little bit for me, actually, I would have done it differently, but, oh well, nobody asked for my opinion... [...] The other films (by Cameron) surely are good, they work as great spectacles, but I dissociate myself from them, even though I worked on them too. My work on them was a logic consequence, because I did the first one, but in my opinion, there was, and always will be, only one true Alien movie, and that is the original."
Giger died at the age of 74.
While not related to cyberpunk in any way, I still felt a need for this thread since his artstyle was always very sci-fi, dark and unsettling. As is Cyberpunk.
Rest in peace.
So apparently the creator of one of the most influencial movie beasts of all time, the ALIEN, and mastermind behind practically everything related to this franchise, as well as the creator of hundreds if not thousands of pieces of twisted, always unsettling, yet strangely beautiful art, Hans Ruedi Giger (Pronounced 'Geeger'), born 1940, has died last Monday in a Zurich hospital (Switzerland). He suffered severe injuries to the head after accidentally falling down the stairs at his home on sunday morning, and was pronounced dead monday afternoon by the doctors.
He was a close friend to movie director Ridley Scott, won the Oscar for his art design on the first Alien film backin the 70s (And rightfully so), and also took part in the art design process of Scotts recent movie "Prometheus". Giger was supposed to do the art design of the upcoming Prometheus sequel as well. He was known for his unique artstyle, which always reminded of the merging of man and machine, but in a sick, unsettling, yet beautiful way. His works involve recurring elements such as metal bones, penises, vaginas, skulls, deformed faces and mechanical beings that you can't look away from.
"My works are not of sexual origin. Here, sexuality is mechanized, automatical. They stand above mere lust, and even more so above love. Everything intertwines with everything, tech becomes flesh, flesh becomes tech, everything is cybernetical, mutated and mutilated, not ritual, and especially not tempting."
Aside from that, he spent the last years as a creator of paintings, sculptures and furniture. About his greatest achievement, the Xenomorph, he said at the opening ceremony of the Giger Museum in Gruyere in 2005:
"I really didn't want it to look like a creature a sane person could come up with... So what does that tell about me? I didn't want the audience to say, yeah, sure that's a dude in a costume. That was not what I aimed for. It should scare the audience not as a monster, but through its mere presence, I wanted to create something that, with every inch of its body, screamed "death", a superior hunter that stalks only the places beyond your worst nightmares [...] And I think we suceeded, because Ridley did such a great job with light and dark in that movie. You don't ever see the complete creature before the end of the film. That ruined it a little bit for me, actually, I would have done it differently, but, oh well, nobody asked for my opinion... [...] The other films (by Cameron) surely are good, they work as great spectacles, but I dissociate myself from them, even though I worked on them too. My work on them was a logic consequence, because I did the first one, but in my opinion, there was, and always will be, only one true Alien movie, and that is the original."
Giger died at the age of 74.
While not related to cyberpunk in any way, I still felt a need for this thread since his artstyle was always very sci-fi, dark and unsettling. As is Cyberpunk.
Rest in peace.
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