Discover the inimitable universe of H. R. Giger in this must-have title about the master who virtuously captured the collective fantasies and fears of our time. From his childhood fears to the film Alien, Giger personally guides us through his multifaceted career through intimate autobiographical essays, detailed reproductions and drawings. In addition, the volume features a foreword by Timothy Leary.a of Art, Modern History and Modern German Literature in Munich. He received his doctorate in 1994 with a thesis on Dan Graham and worked as an art and architecture editor for the Viennese newspaper Der Standard. He has written numerous books on art, including titles on Van Goghy and Chagall. Since 2004 he has been a professor of art history at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe.

The master of horror

Discover the terrifying world of HR Giger

The Swiss artist H. R. Giger (1940-2014) is best known for his creation of the space monster in the 1979 futuristic horror film Alien, for which he won an Oscar. In retrospect, it was but one of the most celebrated expressions of Giger's biomechanical arsenal of creatures, fusing hybrids of human and machine into powerful and evocative images filled with dark psychedelia.
His works drew on ghosts from the past, harking back to his childhood fears, while evoking mythologies for the future. These images captured the collective fantasies and fears of his time: fear of the nuclear bomb, of pollution and waste of resources, and a future in which the survival of our bodies is contingent on machines.
From surreal dreamscapes created with a spray gun and stencils to record sleeves; from guillotine sculptures to a coffee shop he designed himself, Gigernos personally guides us through his multifaceted career in this essential introduction to this master of horror. Detailed reproductions and drawings and a foreword by Timothy Leary complement Giger's intimate autobiographical texts.

About the artist

HRGiger (1940-2014) was a Swiss painter, sculptor and designer who combined dark fantasies and the influence of surrealism to create his own biomechanical universe. He made a name for himself in the 1960s with his airbrushed fantasy creatures and post-apocalyptic landscapes, and later made a name for himself with his work on blockbuster films, most notably as part of the special effects team on the Oscar-winning Alien.

Publisher: Taschen