When I think about artwork that looks like it came from another planet, the works of Swiss surrealist painter, Hans Rudolf ‘Ruedi’ Giger, better known as H. R. Giger, come to mind.
H. R. Giger and his creation.
Giger’s work is truly out of this world. It’s dark, beautiful, and disturbing at the same time. He was best known for his surrealistic biomechanical dreamscapes, which formed the cornerstone of his fame. His most famous book, Necronomicon, published in 1977, was given to director Ridley Scott during the pre-production of the movie Alien, who then hired Giger to produce artwork and conceptual designs for the movie.
Necronom IV
Alien released in 1979, and received both critical acclaim and box office success. Giger earned the 1980 Oscar for Best Visual Effects for his designs of the movie’s title character, including all the stages of its life cycle, plus the movie’s extraterrestrial environments. His design for the alien, also referred to as xenomorph, was inspired by his painting Necronom IV. On 12 May 2014, at the age of 74, Giger sadly passed away in a hospital in Zürich, as a result of injuries sustained in a fall.
Shot a year before his death, Belinda Sallin’s definitive documentary Dark Star: H. R. Giger’s World shares the intimate last years of the artist’s life, and reveals how deeply he resided within his own artistic visions.
DARK STAR: H. R. Giger’s World Trailer
