H.R. Giger (1940-2014) was a Swiss artist, best known for his work in film design, particularly for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror classic Alien.
Giger was born in Chur, Switzerland in 1940 and studied architecture and industrial design at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich. He was interested in surrealism and spent much of his early career exploring his dark and often macabre themes through paintings, sculptures, and film sets.
Giger’s career took off in the early 1970s when he was approached by director Dan O’Bannon to design a creature for the film Alien. Giger’s unique and horrific vision of a biomechanical creature was groundbreaking and the influence of his design can still be seen in films and video games today. Giger also worked on the designs for Alien’s iconic spacecraft, the Nostromo.
Giger’s work in Alien earned him an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1980, and he went on to work on a number of other films, including Poltergeist II, Species, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. In addition to his work in film, Giger designed album covers for a number of bands, including Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Debbie Harry, and Carcass. He also published two books, Necronomicon and Necronomicon II, which featured some of his most disturbing and surreal artwork.
Giger was an avid collector of oddities and antiques, and he filled his home with bizarre items from around the world. He also had a fascination with death, as evidenced by his artwork. His works often featured death and decay, and some of his paintings depicted corpses and skulls being consumed by machines.
Giger died in 2014 after suffering a fall. He left behind a legacy of unique and influential artwork that will continue to inspire and influence artists for years to come.
