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 ...

Books; The Bizarre and Beautiful: 'Demons: Visions of Evil in Art'

Recently, I decided to begin some blog posts paying tribute to something I value incredibly highly in life; books. Over the years books have shaped me, my knowledge and my artwork. So it felt fitting to pay homage to some of my favourite books in my collection and give them the recognition they deserve ...

For a number of years 'Demons: Visions of Evil in Art' has been one of the most important books in my collection. It has virtually been my bible, being carried across continents and often a permanent feature in my bag. It has been an important resource for information and inspiration on a number of different projects, and is often my go to guide on a manner of matters from Demons themselves to infernal and apocalyptic artwork in general. This book is an excellent introduction to Demons in religious artwork and representations of evil, sin and death throughout art history. It gave me a good base knowledge on Demons and the large number of artworks featured means that the book contains a wealth of reference material from various cultures and periods in history. The book would certainly provide anybody interested with a more than adequate introduction to the darker side of religious art and to many important artists within the genre, such as Hieronymous Bosch, Fra Angelico and Gustarve Dore.


The book more than adequately outlines the religious background and context needed to fully understand the in depth history and origins of these devilish demons. Christian theology is largely the focus of the book, and when is comes to subjects such as damnation, sin, apocalypse, death, punishment and hell, no stone is left un-turned. The illustrations range over a huge time period and in many different forms and media, from early woodblocks, frescos, illuminated manuscripts and altar pieces to epic oils, masterpieces by the great masters, etchings, sculpture, architecture and much more. 

My favourite thing about 'Demons: Visions of Evil in Art' is just how far it goes beyond the surface of Demons in art. In the modern world you'd be forgiven for thinking immediately of a kitsch halloween costume depiction of the devil, but in reality the depiction of demons is both ancient and complex, having virtually its own artistic genre, with different periods is history presenting manifestations of evil in a different way. 
Historically imagery was the main method of communication to the masses, as many were illiterate and unable to read religious texts themselves. The visual communication of the church was a hugely important part of early Christianity. Representing evil as a truly terrifying thing was absolutely essential. Imagery needed to instil fear and insight obedience, as it was accessible to all and the best method of propaganda to live a virtuous life.These Hellish visions live on today, as reminders of a time when fact and fantasy were blurred and the Religious landscape of the world was far different to today.

'Demons: Visions of Evil in Art' provides a fantastic insight into a world where beasts and Demons awaited to torture you for every misdemeanor, death stalked and waited around every corner to cut your existence short with some plague or pestilence and penance to God was every mans only hope of salvation from sin ...