Welcome to the World of H.R. Giger; In the Belly of the Beast, With ...

At the entrance of the Giger Bar in Chur. Switzerland Photo: ©1992 Willy SpillerGiger's work intellectually probes some of the most profound concerns of the future of our species and itsends. Through the allure of his paintings, the viewer is tempted to entertain the possibilities of his sublime,almost prophetic, projections, overpopulation, the frightening mutations of organism with machine, and theinherent dangers of cloning. Giger's works appear as transpersonal monuments towering far above the atmosphereof human understanding, silently testifying to the tumults of the progression and ends of the humancondition, unearthed from the remotest depths of the subconscious and translated into the diverse patternsof acrylic on canvas. Giger's markings point toward higher truths, yet his art is as much of a mysteryto the artist himself as it is to the viewer. When asked about the significance of a particular painting Gigerreplies, "I have not, myself, ever analyzed why they out one way or the other. It's something quite strangefor me to see my own paintings. It comes as a surprise to me, just like it is for anyone else. The finishedpainting is a mystery. Most of my paintings are done intuitively, without conscious planning or thought".by Vincent Castigliapdf created by www.littlegiger.comTATTOO SOCIETY 37

By Javier M. de PisónThe womb-like interior of the otherworldly environment that is the H.R. Giger Museum Bar is acavernous, skeletal structure covered by double arches of vertebrae that crisscross the vaultedceiling of an ancient castle. The acute perceptual sensation of being in this extraordinary settingrecalls the Biblical tale of Jonah and the whale, lending the feel of being literally in the bellyof a fossilized, prehistoric beast. But the the "Harkonnen" chairs, with their spinal cord backstopped by pelvis bones, and the stone floor plates engraved with strange hieroglyphs all suggestthat somehow you have been transported into the remains of a mutated future civilization.Biomechanoid 2002. aluminum sculpturePhoto: © 2002 Kelly M. BrillMordor VII. 1975Acrylic on paper on wood100 x 70 cmTATTOO

Alien Monster IV. 1978Acrylic on paper140x140 cmThe bar, as well as the Giger Museum, whichhouses this unique architectural installation, isthe unmistakable work the Swiss Surrealist H.R.Giger. Known for his Oscar-winning designs forRidley Scott's classic "Alien" film (1980), Gigerhas left behind his airbrush paintings of the70'sand 80's to create a series of three-dimensionalspaces in which his aesthetic views, literally,come to life. If in his paintings he has vividlyillustrated the genesis of what he sees as thenext steps in the evolution of mankind — thesymbiosis of man and machine into new forms ofbeings— in his new sculptural and architecturalworks he makes you part of them.To build his museum, the artist renovated a 400-year-old medieval castle, Chateau St. Germain,high atop a hill in the picturesque Swiss town ofGruyères. The four-story building, a labyrinthinestructure with two-meter-thick walls, is now hometo the most comprehensive permanent display ofthe Giger's artwork, spanning his 40-year career.The years of arduous renovation work has notdiminished Giger's perseverance, nor his meticulouseye for detail. A good example of this is theintricate bronze banister flanking the stone stepsleading up to the entrance of the museum, cast inthe shape of the "Alien" creature's tail.There is a truly organic feel in the wing of thecastle that houses the Museum Bar, with itsbone-colored furniture and awe-inspiring interiordesign. Giger used a rock-like synthetic materialto cast the bar elements to preserve the atmosphereof this ancient chateau, which is a landmarkhistorical building.The Museum Bar, which took four years to com-SOCIETYThe H.R. Giger Bar. Gruyeres. SwitzerlandPhoto: © 2002. Wolfgang Holz

plete, opened its doors in 2003. "At thebeginning of the project," explains Gigerin his Zurich atelier, "I was fascinatedwith concrete, because I felt that anantique building such as this neededstone, aged stone, so I used a mixtureof cement and fiberglass to achieve arock gray color for most of the interiorelements. But it didn't work when wetried to use it for the ceiling because thecast arches weighed too much."The cast concrete surfaces of the barfurnishings have been polished to thepoint that they are skin soft to the touch.It enhances the impression of beinginside a once living creature, of sittingon something, perhaps, less than alive,but very warm and enveloping just thesame.The artist states proudly, "I built muchmore on this bar with my own handsthan any of the other ones I had designed,previously," referring to the,now closed, Giger Bar in Tokyo, and thevery-much open one in Chur, Switzerland,the city of his birth and where anupcoming two-month retrospective, (thistime limited to his pre-Alien artwork) willtake place this summer at the BundnerKunstmuseum.From the start of his artistic career,Giger has confronted the traditional ambivalenceof man towards the scientificadvances that can alter the nature ofthe human body. This issue has nowacquired a real urgency and prompteda moral and philosophical debate byrecent experiments in genetic engineering,such as the possibility of cloninghuman beings. The detailed depiction ofhis "Biomechanoid" beings in his classic,translucent airbrush works originatedin the late 1960's, but in his latestsculptures and installations they haveacquired a new and eerie physical form.Giger's art consistently provokes astrange perturbing feeling becausehe continuously touches on profoundissues that resonate in all of us and, inmany instances, seems to anticipateour future not only as individuals butalso as a species. His intellectual concernson this level are matched only bythe impact of his highly original works,his constant experimentation with differentmedia, and an ever more polishedexecution.Etienne Chatton, founder of the InternationalCenter of Fantastic Art of Gruyeres,considers Giger the most importantartist alive today for his premonitoryworks. "He is the only artist who hasseen the dangerous allure of geneticallymodified beings, and has linked it to ourunderlying fears', says Chatton. "Giger'sBiomechanoids were conceived wellbefore today's scientific advances."Another recurring theme in Giger's oeuvreis his concern with overpopulation, aThree views. Museum Giger Gar, Gruyeres. Photo: © 2003 Wolfgang HolzTATTOO

Nighttime projection on the exterior wall of the Giger Museum. Photo: © 2002 David JahnFront desk in foyer of the Giger Museum with Guardian AngelsPhoto: © 2001 Louis StalderAlien Monster 1, 1979Acrylic on paper140x140 cmSOCIETYthreat to overcome, in order to insure thesurvival of mankind. His now classic painting"Birth Machine" (1967) depicts the cutawayof a pistol in which the bullets are crouchingmechanical-looking babies. In 2000, Gigerrecreated "Birth Machine" as a two-metermetal sculpture that greets visitors at theentrance of the Giger Museum. Alone "Birth Machine Baby," a "detail" from thelarger sculpture, stands guard several metersaway, and much like the royal guards in frontof Buckingham Palace, poses with visitors allday."The idea for the museum," explains itsdirector, Carmen Scheifele, "originated with alarge exhibition of Giger's work in the uppercastle of Gruyères, commemorating his 50thbirthday. Giger discovered that this little townreceived a million visitors a year who comehere for the year-round postcard look of thesurrounding snow peaked mountains, and theregion's green valleys, rivers and lakes."Following in the tradition of artists such asSalvador Dalí, who created his own museumin Spain, the Giger Museum is a work of artin itself, a large-scale permanent installationof separate environments, an ever-evolvingproject, which the artist has been working onfor more than ten years."I am aware it is unusual for an artist to openhis own museum," says Giger. "My reasonsfor that decision were practical. First of all,there is a continuous demand by collectorsand admirers of my art to see the originalcreations on display. Galleries and museumscould only exhibit some of my art for a coupleof months a year. Most of the time the majorityof my paintings sat all in storage all year

Exhibition rooms with airbrush paintings. Photo: © 2001 Louis StalderStaircase landing on 1st floor with oil paintings. Photo: © 2002 Alf BattigDeath in a Mosetrap. 1992. Acrylic on paper. 100 x 70 cm1 - Zodiac Sign Virgo, 1993, Aluminum, 80 x 70 x 40 cm, Photo: © 1994 Louis Stalder2 - America, 1968, Painted fiberglass, 85 x 75 x 20 cm3 - Zodiac Sign Pisces, 1993. Aluminum, 115 x 70 x 65 cm, Photo: © 1994 Louis Stalder4 - Tattoo Biomechanoid, 2004. Rusted metal, 13 x 13 x 17 cm, silver tattoo gun. Ltd. Ed. 500. HRGiger.com, Photo: © 2007 Amanda Dutton5 - Life-Support, 1993, Aluminum, 90 140 x 20 cm, Photo: © 2005 Vincent CastigliaTATTOO

Knickenfiwnk, 1988, Acrylic on paper100 x 70 cmround. And now that my art is onpermanent display, I can control theirenvironment and ensure that therooms and surroundings are suitable."Since it opened in 1998, the H.R.Giger Museum has nearly doubledin size. The top floor now housesthe artist's own private art collection,which includes over 600 works bySalvador Dalí, Ernest Fuchs, Dado,Bruno Weber, Günter Brus, ClaudeSandoz, Francois Burland, FriedrichKuhn, Joe Coleman, Sybille Ruppert,Andre Lassen, and among manyothers.Four exhibition rooms in the adjoiningwing of the building house theMuseum Gallery where, on a rotatingbasis, Giger curates one-man showsfor artists in his collection.The museum also houses Giger's filmdesign work for "Alien," "Poltergeist2," "Alien 3" and "Species." "Filmsfascinate me," Giger once said, "becauseI believe they have surpassedpainting as a way of communication."The mythological proportion and cultfollowing of the "Alien" movies, whosecreature is based on his paintings,"Necronom IV" and "Necronom V,"both created two years before RidleyScott had stumbled upon them,are due in great part to his powerfuldesigns.As an artist, Giger is responsible for,single-handedly, creating an astonishingand original new aesthetic in theuniverse, one that provokes profoundquestions regarding the future ofmankind. Through his artwork, he hasdared us to meditate upon the biologicalevolution of our species. If Giger'swork is disturbing, it's because fromhis visionary vantage point Giger forewarnsus of the inherent dangers ofour own upcoming mutations which,as he paints it, will not be a prettysight. As he once summed it up, "Ipaint what frightens me."SOCIETY

y Vincent CastigliaA visionary artist who needs no introduction, H.R. Giger has awed viewers with his creative geniusfor decades and will continue to leave the onlooker thunderstruck for ages to come. His Biomechanicalvisions have served as an infinite reservoir of inspiration for filmmakers and artists alike.The poster on the side of a Prague tram announces visiting Alien.Photo: © 2005 Leslie BaranyInked by Giger, one way or the other.Photo: © 2005 Vincent CastigliaThe father and son.Photo: © 2005 Leslie BaranyTo many of us, H.R. Giger is the creator of some ofthe most revered and memorable artworks of our time.Tattoo artists spanning the globe, myself included,take great pride in reproducing his timeless imageryon skin, worn by collectors as psychic armor, as longas they should live. It was a tattoo, the biomechanicalspine decorating the back of my head and neck, whichbrought me into contact with Giger's circle of friendsand ultimately lead to my meeting with the man himselfin the Czech Republic, where the Giger Gang wasconverging to visit a major retrospective of the artisttaking place at the Technical Museum of Prague. Partof the plan was a side trip to the International TattooConvention of Prague, taking place, fortuitously, at thesame time. I tried to envision the moment throughoutthe long flight from New York but nothing could haveprepared me for the midnight visit to Giger's hotelroom and the experience of sitting with him on theedge of his bed while, with his wife Carmen, he studiedthe pages of my tattoo portfolio. This was the firstof many memorable moments from our subsequentdays together.Visitors to the tattoo convention flocked to the signingtable and waited patiently for their turn at a few preciousminutes of Giger's time. The line for his "JohnHancock" did not subside, as Prague proved to housean exceedingly vast fan-base for the artist. Even whilewe sat for lunch in a park near the Technical Museumhis presence did not go unrecognized. He graciouslycomplied when a young woman approached him fora much-coveted autograph, offering her arm insteadof a piece of paper. This scene was repeated manytimes throughout the trip. One collector at the convention,in the middle of a session on the back of his headand still oozing serum from the half-finished Giger tattoo,had his neck autographed by Giger, intending onTATTOO

airbrush paintings, all borrowedfor the retrospective from privatecollections. I was entranced, asseemed the whole of the crowd,by the eminence of what wewere beholding. I studied eachpainting thoroughly, as if searchingfor a personal precept encryptedin each piece specificallyfor me. Organic mech-scapes,laced with infinitely dense meshpatterns,haunt my mind's eye.Ashamed to admit, but by theend of viewing the whole exhibition,I had a terrible headachethat endured for most of the trip.I had been deeply affected by theimpregnable nature of the man'swork, evoking a physical reaction,never provoked in me byany other piece of art. But that isGiger's trademark effect; the abilityto induce a response unlikeany other artist.Separate from, but interwoven tothese experiences I've been sofortunate to behold and participatein, is the chance occurrencethat brought me thousands ofmiles to the Czech Republic.Three years ago I accompaniedmy drummer to a competitionhe was participating in. Whilesitting in the crowd next to thejudges, one of them asked if theGuy Aitchison on the back of myneck/head was a Giger tattoo. "Itis and it isn't.." I said, handing himmy business card which displaysone of my large Giger tattooson the back of it. The image isamong one of my favorite icons,a part of my own personal portfolioof Giger reproductions, onewhich I spent fifteen hours workingon. The judge was JonathanMover, percussionist to manysuperstar acts and the editor inchief of Drumhead magazine.Jonathan is an art collector anda close friend of Les Barany,Giger's agent. He urged that Icontact Les regarding a book,now in preparation by ScapegoatPublishing, "H.R. Giger UnderYour Skin," comprehensive collectionof all Giger artworks, asthey have been reproduced onskin. From there on, the situation,could not have unfolded bettersynchronized. The mechanismof circumstance was alreadyhard at work to bring to you thisaccount of my experiences withH.R. Giger in Prague.Birthmachine, 1999Aluminum, 200 x 140 x 25 cmPhoto: © 2000 H.R. GigerPhoto: © 2006 Leslie BaranyGiger provides the hand-drawn certificates for the competition winnersPhotos: © 2005 Vincent CastigliaT A T T O O S O C I E T YBirthmachine Baby, 1998Aluminum, 53 x 22 x 22 cmPhoto: © 2005 Ryszard Wojtynski