HR Giger: Skizzen

10 years ago I was lucky enough visit the home of fellow HR Giger fan and avid collector; Dave Julian. Subsequently I was lucky enough to call this wonderfully hospitable and welcoming man my friend and reunite with him earlier this year in Gruyeres. When visiting Dave's house I marvelled at his amazing collection ranging from posters, prints and books to jewellery, albums and photos and everything in between. At the time I was a fresh faced college student desperate to get to the HR Giger Museum, but unequipped financially, logistically and lacking a lot of of the necessary knowledge to make my pilgrimage. I appealed to Les Barany, Gigers agent, for help, and he kindly put me in touch with some wonderful folks a little closer to home who were willing, most kindly, to share their personal collections with me. After having my eyes well and truly opened by Dave's collection all those years ago I have actively added to my own collection bit by bit over the years. But for one reason of another there has always been certain pieces which stuck with me and I am always dreaming of owning. The film design book with the fold out Alien 3 design, wonderfully crafted pieces of jewellery (one of which I am now lucky enough to call my own), the NYC portfolio (yeah I can dream!) and of course, Skizzen.

As they say good things come in small packages and for me Skizzen was just that. By no means a flash statement, this unassuming little grey book totally and utterly captivated me. It was utterly charming and a format rarely seen in a commercial book. Each page features one of Giger's sketches. Pure, raw, honest. A brief glimpse into the mind of a genius. His thought processes, the development of his ideas, what made the great man tick. His sketchbook laid bare in every detail. I found it mesmerizing and nothing short of incredible.

Since seeing Dave's copy of Skizzen all those years ago I think of that little book often and what for me is utterly unrivalled beauty. Perhaps the signs of a truly obsessive book collector. For many years I have hoped some how one day I would have a Skizzen of my own, though knowing it is a very rare book which can command a high price I never expected to get my hands on one, not really.

Then suddenly just under a month ago I received an email. It was an alert from eBay which I had set up to inform me of anything appearing relating to 'Giger Skizzen'. I set up the alert so long ago I had honestly forgotten all about it. For the first time I had found a copy at a price I could afford. I thought about it for around 5 minutes (probably less) and in the end with the words 'you might never see another one' and 'how long have you waited for this?' ringing in my ears I pressed the buy it now button and waited what felt like the longest week for it to arrive from Germany. I was fearful it was too good to be true, would something be wrong? Damage? Missing pages? A fake? Or it just not arrive.

Upon Skizzen's eventual arriva,l I checked it all over, to my relief everything was as it should have been. And finally, after all those years, all that searching through book shops and stalls for countless hours, all that hope that if I looked long enough one would be there waiting. Skizzen was mine. And boy was it worth waiting 10 years for. Never lose hope.

An incredible book for an incredible man ...

Ordinarily when I sit down to thumb through a book or do a spot of reading I sit with an endless stream of tea to lubricate me and piles of notes around me, sketches, scraps of paper and artworks ... everywhere. I rarely allow myself the time to read for pleasure these days, criminal, but there's always research to me done and knowledge needed to move a piece forward or dream up my next mad venture. So when I decided it was finally time to write a blog on the most mammoth (and valuable) book I'm ever likely to own, it was a much more serious affair. On with the white cotton gloves, not a drop of tea or a cheeky biscuit in sight and the only place large enough to house this huge tome, the bed, prepared as I hover over the book, shoulders stooped like a hunchback.

I am talking about a book I was gifted 364 days earlier, Taschens utterly mammoth Limited edition book 'HR Giger'. I say mammoth, Taschen refer to the format as 'Baby Sumo' and at 36x50cm in size, 400 pages and a weight so great I can only just lift it, the book is vast and more than lives up to its title. Released as a limited edition of 1200 copies, the book is a comprehensive look at Giger's career and artworks spanning from 1961 until his death in 2014, when the book was still being worked upon. The book takes you on a journey chronologically through Gigers work, a useful style of layout as you can easily see the flow of Gigers artwork and how his themes and techniques grew and developed over the decades.

Beginning with abstract ink pieces and conceptual pieces such as birth machine the book shows different phases in Gigers career and some themes which would eventually become recurring. The Passagen and Bathroom series demonstrate Gigers amazing ability to represent the same thing in infinite different ways. As time moves on strange organic landscapes grow, and give way to biomechanical nightmares which Giger became so famed for. As the style is honed countless masterpieces stare out at you along the way, pieces from the Spell series, Li, Biomechanoids and eventually Necronom pieces, signaling the arrival of what became later known as (and developed into) the Alien monster which became synonymous with the name Giger. After this time I always felt Giger's work became darker, more mysterious and (if possible) more erotic, something reflected in the Erotomechanics and Victory works. Giger's 2D work continued in his signature style, creating countless nightmarish biomechanical landscapes and the New York City series, until he turned his attention to other ventures including the museum, sculpture, bars, furniture and even a fountain.

Looking through the book in detail sparked memories the images hold for me. Visits to the Giger Museum and different exhibitions, certain details that struck me and things I remember so vividly; the lace pattern of the snakes scales in Spell IV, the haunting eyes of an exotic and surreal woman, the curtained curiosity of the X-Rated Red Room and the overpowering intense Victory images. But also my time studying Gigers work as a young student, looking at his different types of biomechanical landscapes, discovering more and more of his artwork and I couldn't help but smile seeing Japanese Excursion again for the first time in what felt like years (and may well have been).
For me the book is like a miniature Giger Exhibition in my home. There to take me back to seeing some of the pieces that have fascinated me for so long and indulge in my love of all things Giger in the largest possible format outside of the Museum or Exhibitions.

The wealth of artworks in the book largely speak for themselves, with choice quotes thrown in here and there, essays and short chapters peppered throughout to narrate the scenes, the main impact is made, as it should be, by Gigers artwork. The huge landscapes, unfolding and growing to create a detailed, up close look at some of the most magnificent masterpieces I've ever seen. A beautiful print quality allows you to properly see the layering and texture so often lost in books and prints of Gigers work. There's so much to take in visually I'm sure you could sit with the book for weeks and still see a face peering out you've never noticed before or some critter, a rat or snake, so subtle it almost passed you by. The book ultimately allows you to submerge yourself in Giger's incredible world, without even leaving your own home. It isn't even a case of allowing yourself to become engrossed in the imagery and its mysterious landscape and characters, it just happens ...

As a self confessed book obsessive and hoarder this book is the absolute pinnacle of my collection. Its beauty, quality and the consideration behind it is utterly unsurpassed by any other book I own. As a Giger fan and collector I own many books in many languages, but this is undoubtedly the ultimate. For anyone with a passion for Giger this book is a fitting tribute to the late great master. It is a glorious display of some of the finest artworks of his career, on a scale which they can be truly appreciated. I only wish that Giger had lived to see this incredible book come to fruition ...

HR Giger: The Zeitgeist of the 20th Century

Today, my studio is filled with sadness as I mourn the passing of my hero, my inspiration and the greatest contemporary artist in the world; Hans Rudolf Giger.

I have managed to collect my thoughts, and compose myself enough to write a little about the artist who has changed  my life and inspired me more than I can say.

What Hans Ruedi Giger meant to me ...

Giger, to me, has felt ever present throughout my life. Having been exposed to his creations and imaginings from birth, this mysterious man has always been present in my life in some way. As my life has progressed, Giger and his fantastical images have only become more important to me and more involved in my life.

Around 10 years ago my interest and strange curiosity in Giger turned into a passion. As I began to buy his books, read his thoughts and study his images in more depth, I also began to fall in love with Giger's work. Throughout my early years as a developing artist Giger was a huge influence, and a relentless inspiration. For me, Gigers artwork set a president for what could be achieved with imagination, skill and time.

During my years at college I grasped every available opportunity to study Giger, write about his work, and incorporate him into my projects. I didn't mind that everyone thought I was slightly bizarre (they weren't far wrong!), I desperately wanted to spread the word of Giger and share my love of his talent with everyone I could!
 Around 6 years ago, during a study I was conducting on Giger, I contacted Les Baranay for advice on visiting the museum and seeing Gigers work. I received a very pleasant reply, and Les was kind enough to put me in touch with some wonderful people, who felt very passionately about Giger's work.
Unfortunately as a young student I was unable to afford the costs of traveling to the Museum, however, Les had put me in touch with a friend of Gigers in the UK, whom was kind enough to invite me to his home to see his collection,  and very generously gave me a Poster signed by the great man himself, acts of kindness for which I am eternally grateful.

The trip which has been in the making for over 6 years, to Gruyeres, Chur and Zurich, had finally been planned to happen this summer. After the recent events, this trip could easily be tinged with a bitter-sweet sense of tragedy, however, I hope I will undertake this trip with a sense of joy and celebration at the wonderful artwork which was given to us by Hans Rudolf Giger, through which he will live on forever.

In my studio sits a portrait of Giger I drew a number of years ago. I see this everyday, and it is a constant reminder of Giger, his work, all that he has achieved, and all that can be achieved. It inspires and encourages me, every single day, and will continue to do so. For a number of years years I have been planning a Giger tattoo, and during the last 6 months I have drawn 4 different versions of the tattoo. I have completed a fifth design, with this portrait which is so important to me incorporated, as a true homage to my hero.

Giger has remained a constant inspiration, throughout my life. He has made me strive to new limits, to push forth towards his benchmark of perfection, to allow my creativity to take control and not feel restricted by conformity. Giger has, eventually, made me feel confident enough to draw what I really want to; what I feel and what I love, rather than what I think I should, and what society expects. He has changed my life in a way he will never know, and his legacy; his work, will continue to enrich my life, and the life of millions, forever.

Thank you, Hans Ruedi Giger.