More
sad news to report. H.R. Giger, the artist
whose nightmarish creations provided the basis for Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning
Alien (1979), passed away yesterday
at the age of 74 from injuries sustained in a fall, according to the H.R. Giger
Museum in Gruyeres, Switzerland.
Mr.
Giger was born in Chur, Switzerland and was an artist at a time when audiences
for his type of work was few and far between.
This is difficult to believe now as so many artists were influenced by
his original melding of people and machines.
His father had him train as an industrial designer while his mother
encouraged his zeal for morbidly grotesque artwork which initially took the
form of ink and oil before he discovered airbrushing while using his own
freehand technique.
He
was commissioned by 20th Century Fox to design and create the sets
and titular monster in the aforementioned Alien which became a smash hit and
launched a successful franchise while inspiring legions of fans to become
artists and filmmakers. He won a
well-deserved Oscar for his work on the film.
Mr.
Giger worked as a set designer for Dune
(1984), Poltergeist II: The Other Side
(1986), and Species (1995).
