Ripley to Purvis,Alien: Resurrection - the little HR Giger Page

Freudian Grip: the proposed (andrejected) sandworm from Dune.career, WWW HR Giger com introduces theworld to a visionary artist who creates muchmore than mere Aliens and who has neverhesitated to experiment with mediums ofexpression.Granted, the Alien was an afterbirth ofGiger's airbrushed erotoscapes, and it is forthose works that he is best known. That said,significantly less than the majority of thebook is comprised of either biomechanicalstudies or erotoscapes; the two categoriescombined likely account for 1/4 of the 280illustrations represented, though theirs areadmittedly the most lavish and sizeable whenincluded (employed mostly as chapterdividers).WWW HR Giger com also offers commentaryfrom Giger throughout; indeed, the artistdesigned the book himself. As his works arepresented for the most part sequentially, theresult is a biographical odyssey through aheretofore undiscovered country. Thoughonly a few true blue Aliens raise their headsfor the passers-by, the sights are still wellworth writing home about.Here are just some of the highlights. Giger"confirms" Freud's dream theory in the earlysketch series A Feast for the Psychiatrist. Heshows off his personal and professional furnituredesign and interior decoration, theprofessional aspect of which includes planningmaps and realised photographs ofGiger-Bars in Tokyo and Chur (featuring thelatter's bathroom, which inspires leg-crossing)as well as set design for a scrapped 1976film version of Dune. Giger displays whatare in his eyes the most important works inhis private collection of art, the contents ofwhich vary from the surreal to the surrealer(incl. Brus, Sandoz and one of his greatestinspirations, Kuhn). Some of his classic biomechanicstudies are presented in rich, gorgeous3D; Necronom IV is one of them.Pictures of the "open-air museum" of tattooedGiger fans receive an entertainingchapter. Album cover art evolution is examined,including the 1981 bio-mechanisationof Blondie's Debbie Harry and the 1993Cronenberg-via-Dead Ringers sculptureentitled Life Support for metal band Carcass'Heartwork. The equally Cronenbergian"killer condoms" are shown in both theirNecessity isthe mother ofinvention, butfor Giger, it hasbecome thefather of insurrection."Erotoscape: one of the many sightsalong Giger's Garden Train.developmental sketch phases and their fullyfleshed-(inside-)out phases; this section alsoincludes the obvious killer condom prototype:the Dune sandworm, from the failed1976 film project.Artistic variety aside, though, truly themost surprising sections of WWW HR Gigercom are humour-oriented, despite the factthat Giger undertakes every humorous projectwith an attitude of abject seriousness.His 1994 "modest" proposal plans for theSwiss transit system to be restructured in theshape of a pentagram must be read and studiedfor their arguable practicability to bebelieved. The chapter on Giger's real-lifebiomechanical Swatch watches features ajoke page that contains 13 types of timepiecesready to made upon commission, thebest being Gigers Watch-Off, with its acidfilled,ceramic housing to help the wearer'shand "timelessly fall away." And while it'snot immediately apparent, the Alien thatgraces the cover of the book itself is wearingskis (pictured)!The book concludes with photographs andplans of two Giger works currently underway,both inspired by the artist's originaldesigns for the 1995 movie Species. TheGarden-Train (now tracking in the artist'sbackyard) and the Giger-Museum (proposedto be built in the form of a spiral railway in agutted castle in Gruyère, France) are easilythe biggest visions that the man has everattempted to realise. Gaudy as it may seem,it's arguable that these works could potentiallybe the first physical step in whatpromises to be the very long road to actualsocietal bio-mechanisation. Then again,maybe he just has a different kind of onetrack mind these days.Regardless of the path that Giger choosesfrom hereon, there is no doubt that he willtravel it on his own terms. The greatest ironythat emerges from the Alien: Resurrectioncredit farce is that H.R. Giger is an artist whomust now cry out to be evaluated in the limitingterms of his most famous creation, asthe world continually fails to consider howmuch more he actually has to offer.Necessity is the mother of invention, but forGiger, it has become the father of insurrection.WWW HR Giger com paints the trueportrait of the man; that this brave book wasreleased only heartbeats ahead of Alien:Resurrection borders on tragedy. The combefore the storm? Certainly. And the tip ofthe proverbial iceberg, too.Keep up the good work, HR. In space, noone can hear you scream - but the audience islistening.Gary Butler is a company man who thinksthat "alienation" should never have beentwo words long. He is currently the editor ofWatch magazine.Beyond Hollywood: Giger's Alien continuesto evolve.Rue Morgue 11