Every dedicated fan of the Alien franchise surely worships HR Giger. For without his designs, the Alien universe would not look the same. The Swiss artist’s style and execution of images depicting humans linked with machines in a dystopian-like biochemical relationship first came to prominence in his painting Necronom IV, which was the inspiration for the Alien design. But even if you are as dedicated to Giger’s genius as much as you are the Alien movies, there are several things you probably don’t know about the influential artist.
People Took Offense at Giger’s Early Work
As a young man, Giger left his hometown of Chur to enroll with the School of Applied Arts in Zurich. At the art school, he developed works based on his love of Egyptian iconography. His first exhibited works were full of mummies, sarcophagi, and suchlike. But his images also contained quasi-sexual imagery. Visitors to the galleries did not take well to his graphic imagery. Indeed, some were so appalled that they spat on the gallery windows as they walked by.
Giger’s Work Has Inspired Themed Bars
The first Giger bar opened in the artist’s hometown of Chur in 1992. There is now a second in Gruyères, which opened in 2003. The interiors of the themed bars display Giger’s biomechanical style. The walls, roof, fixtures, and fittings are all modeled by the artist and resemble the same type of design used in the Alien movies. A Giger bar is a great place to soak up an Alienesque atmosphere while you enjoy a few drinks or play games on your phone. You could even play Alien-inspired games like Alien Isolation, which is based on Scott’s films, or sci-fi slot games like Invaders from Planet Moolah, which is available at this site. Any fan of Giger will want to visit a Giger bar at least once in his or her life.
A Chance Encounter Led to Giger Landing the Job to Work on Alien
When Ridley Scott agreed to take on the Alien movie, he knew that he had to push design boundaries. But Scott had no idea how he was going to proceed with the film’s art direction. Upon visiting Fox for a meeting, Scott spotted Giger’s famous book of dark artworks Necronomicon. Scott is reported as saying he took one look at the book and decided on the spot that HR Giger was the man for the job. Scott said he had never been surer of anything in his life. Giger then went on to create the Alien creature with model-maker Roger Dicken in its four phases of egg, face-clinger, chest-burster, and adult.
Giger Used Some Odd Materials to Make the Alien Eggs
When Giger made the eggs from which the aliens hatch, he used a variety of odd materials. Along with plastic, Giger used that neon-green Slime that was such a popular toy in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as well as real animal flesh. And for the stretchy tendons, Giger used shredded condoms!
Alien Wasn’t Giger’s First Alien Movie
Have you seen the low-budget 1969 science fiction movie Swiss Made? If not, you need to check it out. The Swiss film is about a humanoid alien and his alien-dog who arrive on planet earth. And Giger designed the sets and costumes for it. Yes, nearly a decade before Alien, Giger was creating sci-film design concepts. OK, the movie isn’t great. But you can see some designs that hint at the later concepts used in Alien, such as the creature’s elongated cranium. So, it is definitely worth a watch.
Giger Designed a Batmobile
Although it never made it past the initial stage of sketches, HR Giger submitted a design of Batman’s Batmobile to be used in the 1995 movie Batman Forever. Giger’s claw-shaped car was a radical departure from the Batmobile that had appeared in Tim Burton’s first two Batman movies, as you would expect. Tim Burton and HR Giger would certainly have made an interesting pairing, but Joel Schumacher replaced Burton for the third Batman movie and Giger’s design was dropped. Seeing as Batman Forever is renowned for being one of the worst superhero movies ever made, it’s probably best that Giger was not associated with it.
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