H.R. Giger's Necronomicon

Product Information

H.R. Giger next to the bust “Sil” from the science fiction film Species in the German Film Museum in Frankfurt (2009); de:Benutzer:Smalltown Boy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Giger's first success was when H. H. Kunz, co-owner of Switzerland's first poster publishing company, printed and distributed Giger's first posters, beginning in 1969. Isabella studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature & Language and Psychology. Throughout her undergraduate years, she took Art History as an additional subject and absolutely loved it. Building on from her art history knowledge that began in high school, art has always been a particular area of fascination for her. From learning about artworks previously unknown to her, or sharpening her existing understanding of specific works, the ability to continue learning within this interesting sphere excites her greatly. In 1977, Giger released a book of his illustrations which was called The Necronomicon. It made his fans look for parallels between his paintings and Lovecraft’s Cthulhu worlds for many years. In fact, Giger just liked the name. This book called for the first wave of popularity for Hans Rudy, which even reached Hollywood. At the time, director Ridley Scott was working on the concept for Alien and couldn’t find an artist who could provide him with a suitable sketch depicting a bloodthirsty alien. At some point, the film operator showed Scott Giger’s Necronomicon, and when he saw the Necronom IV, he realized that his search was over. Giger's style and thematic execution were influential. He was part of the special effects team that won an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for their design work on the film Alien. His design for the Alien was inspired by his painting Necronom IV and earned him an Oscar in 1980. His books of paintings, particularly Necronomicon and Necronomicon II (1985) and the frequent appearance of his art in Omni magazine continued his rise to international prominence. Giger was admitted to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013. He is also well known for artwork on several music recording albums including Danzig III: How The Gods Kill by Danzig, Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Deborah Harry's KooKoo.

If H.R. Giger Necronomicon were to be remembered by only one piece of art, it would absolutely have to be Necronom IV. This particular image was the basis of the Xenomorph design – a monstrous extraterrestrial humanoid known from the Alien movie series. The creature depicted in Necronom IV is partly human and partly inhumane; partly biological, and partly mechanical. The key human element are its arms. On the other hand, the face is insect-like. The long, phallic head and a tail ending with a strange object – maybe a human skull, maybe the creature’s larva – grab the viewer’s attention. The rest of the creature’s anatomy is somewhat unclear – some of it is reminiscent of Cthulhu’s tentacles from Lovecraft’s mythology, while other fragments added to the body are mechanical. The anatomy of the creature depicted in Necronom IV was too incredible to become the movie’s antagonist, but it served as the direct first draft of the famous Xenomorph. Source: www.wikiart.org/en/h-r-giger/necronom-iv-1976.Giger was born in 1940 in Chur, capital city of Graubünden, the largest and easternmost Swiss canton. His father, a pharmacist, viewed art as a "breadless profession" and strongly encouraged him to enter pharmacy, Giger recalled. He moved to Zürich in 1962, where he studied architecture and industrial design at the School of Applied Arts until 1970. Giger in Wienfirst edition 2006, EBS Verona, Museum Betriebs Gesellschaft mbH Wien, ISBN 3-901247-15-7 He continued to work in cinema, providing designs for various films, but he frequently generated work for films that were never completed or for ideas that never materialized. So, Giger sought new means to pursue and distribute his work. The two Giger Bars in his hometown of Gruyères and Chur, Switzerland, were erected under Giger’s careful supervision and exactly represent his original plans. Print of original diaries (no 7 and 8) of H.R. Giger covering the production period of the Alien movie.

H. R. Giger next to the bust “Sil” from the science fiction film Alien in the German Film Museum in Frankfurt, 2009; de:Benutzer:Smalltown Boy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Giger’s most significant creative achievement was his representation of human bodies and equipment in icy, connected interactions, which he dubbed as biomechanical. His main influences were Ernst Fuchs, Dado, and Salvador Dalí. Some say his work is dismal and depressing, focusing on death, blood, overpopulation, strange things, and so on, but he disagrees. His biomechanical notions are still being investigated individually in domains such as media art and bio-art, less as an aesthetic influence and more as suggestions for philosophical approaches. H.R. Giger's Necronomicon I fifth edition 1991 - first Hardcoveredition, Edition C, Zürich, ISBN 3-89082-519-2Additionally, he reportedly remembered when he was born, which was a traumatic process for him and involved his removal from his mother’s womb with forceps. He also described the above memory as being an enclosed space evoking claustrophobia in him. Hans Ruedi Giger was born in the Swiss city of Chur in Switzerland on February 5, 1940, and he died due to a fall on May 12, 2014, in Zürich where he lived. He was known as a Fantastic Realist artist and became renowned for the artworks and concepts portrayed in the movie Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott, for which he received an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in 1980.

The Necronom IV by H.R. Giger depicts the alien figure standing in a profile position (seen from the side) and centrally placed in the composition. Only its upper torso, up to its waistline, is visible, and its lower torso and legs are not in our, the viewers, sight. It has a thin emaciated physique revealing around ten ribs. It is a combination of the skeleton, skin, muscle, and almost machine, all of which becomes a “biomechanical” creature, which is a term often attributed to Giger’s art. The xenomorph is an extraterrestrial from the most desolate parts of space. Hans Ruedi Giger is most recognized for influencing the aesthetic direction of Alien. Even so many years after his passing, his singular outlook continues to influence.Giger varied the light and shadowed areas, which provides emphasis on the garishness of the figure. H.R. Giger was a talented artist with an undoubted depth of spirit and imagination. His artworks are visual outer testimonies of the inner realms of his subconscious and his interests stretched far and wide, from Egyptian motifs, and occultism to the beauty of women. To understand his Necronom IV painting, one example of many requires a look at what inspired this Swiss artist. Giger’s oeuvre as an artist, however, transcends beyond the sci-fi brand, blending horror and the macabre and delving into our insatiable curiosity with the things that scare us the most. Alicia has been working for artincontext.com since 2021 as an author and art history expert. She has specialized in painting analysis and is covering most of our painting analysis. Texts by: Joan Bta. Peiro, Fernando Savater, Carlos Arenas, Carlos Plasencia, Pilar Pedraza, Antonio Jose Navarro

The upper tube-like structure ends in a concave shape at the tip, almost reminiscent of a can-opener shape. This echoes the curved, convex shape of the bulbous structure above it, as if it can almost fit into the shape below it. The bulbous structure above this is the end tip of the alien’s head, and it also has a skeletal creature inside, almost as if this is another type of womb or chamber. The alien’s head is long and horizontal, resembling a phallus shape. Its face appears frightening and garish. It has a large mouth that reveals sharp teeth as if it cannot be closed. Giger was invited to return to the franchise with 1992’s David Fincher-directed Alien 3. While contributing to the new design work, Giger clashed with the effects team and found the experience unsatisfactory—even more so when he screened the film and noticed Fox had both ignored his contractual specification that he be credited for work on the sequel (instead of just “original design by”) and left his name out of the closing credits. The mistakes were corrected for the film's home video release. 7. THE STUDIO PURPOSELY LEFT HIS NAME OFF ALIEN: RESURRECTION.Giger designed furniture, specifically for a cinematic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune. David Lynch directed the picture many years later, utilizing only Giger’s preliminary sketches. Giger had hoped to collaborate with Lynch, stating in one of his books that Lynch’s picture Eraserhead was closer to achieving his ideal than even Giger’s own works. Nearly 10 years prior to beginning work on Alien, Giger was invited to design costumes and sets for a small Swiss film titled Swiss Made [ PDF]. Released in 1969, the film is about a humanoid extraterrestrial who visits Earth with his alien dog companion. “I used a real dog,” Giger said, “and I made the clothes in polyester.” Although crude, the design of the alien (above) hints at the banana-shaped cranium he’d later make famous. 3. A BOOK GOT HIM THE ALIEN JOB. Over the years through further exploration, I think that I have becomet amazed though about how many possible