HR Giger: The Monster Maker 

Back in the seventies I was studying for a Bachelor of arts degree at a London art college, where we we being taught the graphics course by a bloke who did worked with us part time. He came in one day and set us project that I'd never seen the likes of. He handed around a book saying the film he was currently working on was employing this man and that his art style was going to play a major role in the look of the film and that he wanted us to design teaser posters for it. We were all gob smacked, as we'd not seen anything like it before. LOL Little did we know.......

I've always adored H.R. Giger's artwork, it's just so morbidly beautiful. The twisted entwining of flesh and technology that he presented in his artwork was truly visionary. Even though some of his pieces created over fifty years ago, they still manage to be contemporary. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Richard Pickman from H.P. Lovecraft's short story 'Pickman's Model'- a talented, enigmatic man who was entrenched in a world mostly inaccessible to us, except through the brief glimpses he offered through his work.

As a tattooer, he's one of my greatest influences I just love how dark and detailed his work was

1st detention I got in school was 2nd grade art class. We were told to bring in examples of our favorite artist and mine was his. My mom was called a bad mother by the teacher for me "bringing in porn". Mom screams at her, takes me home, and we watched Aliens. We're taught in America, that if a kid is exposed to this kind of art/movies/music, they might end up a serial killer. Better to just go to church and watch the news to see how many people were shot today...

Ha! I was an apprentice at JECKLIN record store in Zurich Switzerland, around the corner from where HR lived. I was 18 yes old and once a month, I had to hand deliver a dozen vinyl records hand picked by Hans Jecklin for Giger. They were friends, and I as the apprentice was the delivery girl. I would bring records to his apartment, he would listen to each one briefly, and send me back to the store with the ones he didn’t like. I remember one time he picked Foreigner 4, he loved “Cold As Ice”. He liked KISS and Black Sabbath as well.

There are good artists, there are great artists, then there's Giger in a league of his own. I have been in love with his work ever since buying a copy of Necronomicon 2 over 30 years ago.

Hauntingly complex artist, his own type of sordid mathematics.

tbh i was expecting a mention of the videogame Scorn given how recently it was released. it's obviously not giger's work but it's so heavily influenced by him i think it would make an honourable mention. i've only just learned of giger because of them, because i was so fascinated with the lore or lack thereof behind the environment in the game. it's a cool coincidence that you posted this video while i'm currently hyperfixated on giger's work and likewise. i really enjoyed this video :))

It is amazing how his art could be immediately adapted into science fiction horror. Not just as inspiring tones and themes but nightmare images waiting to come alive on the movie screen.

Love his work. When my wife and I visited Germany, our hosts asked if there was anything I wanted to do. I told them I wanted to go to Switzerland and see the Giger museum. We took the trip to beautiful Gruyères, Switzerland and visited the museum, and had absinthe in the Giger bar. Loved the whole experience!

I don’t know about Crowley, but if you haven’t already featured these artists you might want to consider it: Austin Osman Spare; Rosaleen Norton (who painted *from real life* by the way); Pamela Coleman Smith, the largely forgotten illustrator of the Rider-Waite tarot deck; and Marjorie Cameron, a.k.a. Babalon. If you’re interested in featuring something lighter but still awesome and complex, look into Walter Inglis Anderson. (ps) I still have and cherish my “Brain Salad Surgery” LP, bought in 1973. The song “Still … You Turn Me On” blends nicely with the Giger illustrations. 😏

Nomination? Yes, but he also won that Oscar for his work on Alien!

This is one of those rare occasions where the art influenced the movie to such a degree that the art is its own character creating a symbiotic relationship with the film and one would perish without the other. Also, it seems that RS has a knack for art that becomes part of the movie such a Blade Runner.

Giger's art is like no other on this Earth and most definitely WAY ahead of its time back in the 70's and onward.

Fun Fact. Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune was the 1st film Giger worked on. It was during that preproduction that Giger met Dan O'Bannon. Several other artists who were involved in the ill-fated Dune adaptation also went on to contribute to the 1st Alien film like Jean "Moebius" Giraud and Chris Foss. If you haven't seen it, Frank Pavich's documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" is fantastic. Giger himself appears in it.

Giger's work on the LP cover for Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery," is noteworthy. A few years ago, I took my nephew's son to a natural history museum. We closely studied the fossilized skeletons of certain dinosaurs when we came up to a mounting of a Tyrannosaurus skeleton. The kid remarked, "Look at that T-Rex skeleton's tail -- just like the monster in 'Alien.'" I just looked at the kid and smiled.

I have loved Giger since I discovered the Alien movies, and I think I was 12 at the time. I am the proud owner of both the Necronomicon 1 and 2, gifts from my husband before we were married. If you are interested in any of the images from inside the books, let me know! They are absolutely gorgeous. My bucket list has me going to the museum and having a drink at the Giger Bar. See you there!

Brain Salad Surgery was my introduction to this artist and also ELP. I have to admit it was the cover that got me to listen to the album and neither disappointed my budding artistic sense(s) . It's very compelling artistry. I forgot all about Giger until Alien came out. Then I said jeez that work looks familiar. When an artist is so unique like Giger, Beksinski, Bacon... their work "ticks all the right boxes" and sticks with you.

In my top two favorite artists, next to Beksiński.

Your video's are always so damn good! Loved this one. I hope one day you'll do a video on Nicholas Kalamakoff, his work is so unique and twisted.

As an artist, Giger is 1 of my favorite top 10 artists. Problem is, I’m still working on the remaining 9. His imagination and skill is virtually superhuman/ supernatural. Terrifying, dark, and morbidly beautiful all at once. 👍🏾👊🏾

I recently got a legit copy of the necronmicon for Christmas and it is such a beautiful and haunting book. My s.o. was inspired by this video to get it, I'm already such a huge fan of your video essays too, so it was an absolutely fantastic experience. Thank you for giving us these videos and being a part of our lives ❤️

I'm surprised you didn't mention his work in video games. Granted I only know about it second hand, but he definitely at least influenced the designs in I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Regardless, wonderful video! thank you for your hard work

I discovered Giger's art many years after seeing "Alien". I was in the process of entering Design School when a friend showed up with a Taschen Anthology on Giger, and told me it was the dude who had designed the Xenomorph. I was immediately enthralled by the artworks, and bought the same book a few days later and would devour it for hours. Years later I found several interviews of HRG online, and what struck me was the candid, quiet and nice way he talked about himself and his work, a complete paradox when looking at his dark and unsettling art. Somehow I had envisioned him as a mad, restless and crazed genius, but it struck me as the polar opposite of that.

I went on a 3 week backpacking trip through Europe about 6 years ago. I went to La Gruyère exclusively to see the fully realized space of the museum. Gorgeous. Terrifying. The true depth of detail and imagination in this man’s work is impressive, but after awhile there, one can truly start to understand what he meant when he related to feeling at home in the darkness of one’s self. Each of his works is a fractal, or Mandela of the darkest corners of his imagination, and he has brought it forth and integrated it so deeply into reality. The bar is jaw dropping in person. I recommend the spirit Grande Gruyère, named after the town. Also check out the mountain Molleson? Something like that I probably spelled it wrong. There is a room in the museum where Geiger has featured some of his darker more personal pieces. There are more sketch-like in nature than the work he is known for. They seem to delve deeper into specifically sexual themes. I recommend the documentary Dark Star to learn more about him and his life, but you have put together a fantastic video. As always.

Great video as always! His art has such a big influence on pop culture, not only the Alien franchise. Things that come to mind are the new video game Scorn and the manga BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei (this manga alone is worth its own video tbh). Both took clear inspiration from his art style.

My wife organised, for my 60th birthday, a trip to Gruyères and the Giger Museum. The place is to be recommended.

Many are unaware of this tidbit but Clive Barker was and still is one of H.R. Giger's greatest fans. Prior to making the 1987's Hellraiser, Mr. Barker would frequent underground nightclub BDSM themed in the downtown area of Manhattan. This would setup the unique leather design to the Cenobites. But he did this to bring upon uniqueness to his movie and not "just carbon copy and paste another man's life's work without proper credit". Mr. Barker was enamored by Giger's works and obviously thanks in part to the 1979's Alien movie. The original Cenobites were actually going to be more "biomechanical" than "organic leathery attire". But along the way Mr. Barker did wanted to leave some of the core designs intact from Giger's works. As a way to pay homage to Mr. Giger's artistic inspiration. In fact Mr. Barker did show his Cenobites designs to H.R. giger to get feedback. Mr. Giger ultimately gave it the proverbial thumbs up. So yeah. The reality is the universe of Hellraiser was going to be more akin to biomechanical than leathery skin whatever. Edit: Forgot to add this tidbit. Mr. Barker did keep the chalky white skin for Pinhead and for the female Cenobite(s) in the first and subsequent films. Obviously paying homage to Giger's white and black airbrush works. Edit 2: Taking a step back to see the Cenobites as they are screams H.R. Giger's Necronomicon IV.

Giger also did the album artwork for Danzig’s How the Gods Kill. Combine the art and music. It will make your hair stand on end 🤘

My favourite obscure Geiger work is his collaboration with Debbie Harry, he did album artwork and body paint for her

Early 2000's Ibanez Guitars released 5 H.R. Giger body art Guitars! One of the designs is going for $10,000 USD! It's a zinc body that is hand etched!!! The RU-vid Channel 'BERNTH' owns one.

Love that you make the effort to look up the right pronunciation - a lot of content creators don’t do that. As a German I find this extremely sad, to hear so many names butchered because no one bothers. So thank you for the effort

Thank you for this wonderful documentary on H. R. Giger. My music studio walls are covered in Giger art, many signed by the artist. I have always found beauty each time I look to see new things in his art, some that have been on my wall for over twenty years. In his book Necronomicon, he speaks of being in France to visit his aunt at a young age ( 5 or 6 years old). He speaks of seeing dead black eels washed up on the river banks that haunted him. I believe this is where our xenomorph came from. Beautiful, haunting long lines with a phallic head and the appearance of no eyes. His art is a fine example of the place inside us that many are afraid, or ashamed to see. GT

Nice, but sadly you miss a huge point in the creating the "alien". Many artworks already existed, cause he mad them for Alejandro Jodorowsky`s Dune mid 70s. The Movie sadly never were created, so Giger reused many works. The Hangar Domes from Prometheus for example, thos with the Face on the top, were though as a landing platform for House Harkonnen.

in one interview giger told the funny story of two border policemen who wouldnt let him pass after inspecting his artwork he was traveling with. His airbrushstyle had reached such a high level that these two policemen were shure that they were looking at photos. Giger just asked the men: and where do you think i took these? in hell?

I found Giger's work through Brain Salad Surgery. Fell in love with his style, and I even bought a gatefold/original sleeve version of it because I loved it so much. Your channel is one of my favorite ones out there, glad to see that you made a video on Giger!

Giger's Space Jockey design for Alien... Enigmatic, mysterious, majestic, with just enough hint of horror, makes sure you respect even a fossilised one!!! Captain Dallas: "Look's like it's been dead a long time... Fossilised... It's bones are bent outward, like it exploded from inside!!!" Ridley Scott on Prometheus: "It's a Spacesuit"! Way to go Scott, for dissing one of the most iconic, seminal designs EVER put on film!!!

I've loved Geiger's art since I was a little kid in the 70s, thank you! Haro is amazing, great choice!

hey... taschen released a hardback of giger's works in high quality, alongside his biography, photos of his life and sculptures and such, for about 30 euros... i got mine at around 15 euros... check online....

I've been to the HR giger museum when I was a child. Absolutely loved it and can still remember there was a small 18+ section behind a curtain where you could see some of his sketches. Most of them were of people acting out human centipede types of scenarios and lots of b*stial*ty sketches. It kind of scarred me but at the same time it was fascinating to get a look into his mind eventhough there's already a lot of sexual themes in his other pieces.

Love Giger! And your content! Giger was a one of a kind, once in a century genius. I was so excited to see Aliens having been a fan.

I'd love a video on Crowley's art and his influence on others. This one here is such a delight, giving a coherent context to the bits and pieces I've picked up along the way.

I met ihm some years before he died and I know some people who knew him quite well. In Switzerland he always was the artist next door. He was teaching at a local art collage and went skiing with people. His art seems so alien (pun intended) but he wasn't, even he looked scarry.

Don’t forget Debbie Harry’s first solo album cover art KooKoo

I have been a huge fan of his surrealistic totally biomechanical style since I was about 9...when I 1st saw alien. Just blew my mind. And I went and looked into him and his work. I love it

As a tattoo artist I can't count how many times I have tattooed his art on ppl bodies 😄 impressive

You should check out the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, it's about the failed attempt by Alejandro Jodorowsky at making a Dune movie in the 70s. He was the one who recruited O'Bannon (alien scenarist) and Giger and iI believe it is how they met, so in a way Jodorowsky's Dune was a failure but it resulted in Alien becoming a thing.

Let’s not forget the Frankenchrist trials. It was HR Giger’s painting of the “penis landscape’ that was deemed to be so obscene that the dead Kennedys were the first band ever put on trial in America over a record album. I just thought that should be mentioned, it was quite historical

With regard to your request for mispronunciation comments, this one I find widespread and baffling. The letter ‘h’ when spoken doesn’t start with an ‘h’. It is pronounced ‘aitch’ and not ‘haitch’.

I think the most important thing for an artist to do is to create a unique style for themselves. Giger did that for himself. Brain Salad Surgery was the first album I ever bought. I have a fold out copy too.

I did my senior thesis on H.R. Giger a little over 20 years ago. Thank you for the new knowledge, Blind Dweller

If you do check out the Giger bar, you should vlog it.

My first exposure to Giger was the Emerson, Lake and Palmer album: Brain Salad Surgery. The floors of those Giger Bars must be a bitch to get clean.

A video on the art of Aleister Crowley would be awesome.

I don't think he was too concerned about being bombed by the Nazis. Switzerland was afraid to accidentally be attacked by both sides as they were stuck in the middle. Politically most swiss people were sympathetic towards the end of the war especially after dresden massacre.

The artist haro is featured on the band katatonia's recent album with the crowned figure you used at the end.

And not to mention that Tom Gabriel Warrior/Fischer was close friends with Hans since the days of Hellhammer going into Celtic Frost and eventually Triptykon.

Brain Salad Surgery!! That's just screaming for macabre art cover. There's Midwest artist whose Folk based work must been inspired by H R Geiger. His name Tom Hucks check it out.

Still have a pack of posters of HR Giger that I bought 30 years ago, my favorite is Li, she's so beautiful... Thank you for reminding me of those gems now collecting dust, I'm moving to a new house next month and they deserve a nicely framed place on the walls 🖤

I thought it was pretty cool that he sculpted and casted a microphone stand for Jonathan Davis of korn

I noticed an intricate skull in a painting has been altered. Giger said may there chests be filled by an Alien. Hm..

If ever a man has glimpsed inside the mind of Satan… I’ve never seen anything like this from anyone else. I am shocked, disturbed and fascinated.

You could’ve mentioned that he did a lot more album artwork after Brain Salad Surgery. The best probably being To Mega Therion by Celtic Frost.

His work on Debbie Harry's coo coo album is cool as well as the dead kennedys getting in trouble for their giger poster in their frankenchrist album.

Covering up modern art FK YT. Why don't YOU censor medieval ART while your at it too.

I’m saying nothing about the pronunciation of the art collector that first helped him

Your actually incorrect about Gigers death. He was recovering fine until Alien vs Predator requim started playing on the tv in his room in which he immediately died.

I love his art. Not a fan of many monster movies. Alien scared me to the point of crying when I was four. The Xenomorph terrified and fascinated me. As an adult I still curl up cringing at close up of the monster. R.I.P Giger.

I would just like to say, I live a VERY isolated life. And I was thinking about toning my art down. Because it frightens so many. But now I am not going to, I had no idea other artists were doing nightmarish work too!!! Wow so glad I finally got internet!!! This guy is AMAZING!!!❤

Giger is, in my opinion, an industrial artist and remained in that narrow (again, IMO) architectural and metallic phantasms of fear. His was a closed, claustrophobic style. On the other side is the like of JMW Turner -- also an artist of technology (albeit the technology of his day) but also a romantic in love with air, sky and the sublime of the infinite. Giger: closed and cramped and dangerous. Turner: open and airy and flush with awe.

he has been ripped off so many times,like mc escher he was an architect and mathmatics pulse in his visions,its pure alternative reality horror at his best,arh and the necronomican shine,his use of airbrush,acrilic,pencil,pen and ink are not rivalled to date !i have had dreams of his scapes and woke sweating bullets,the frankenchrist dead kennedys album was banned,porn death horror at its best,its a shame that his work for dune was cut short,and when his wife li blew her head off,he was not afraid to paint the most graphic depictions of her in a hellish afterlife,very mysterious shocking master and so ahead of his time he influenced almost the whole biomechanic goth,metal scene,his tarot is almost as good as rosaleen nortons thoth pack for crowley,nuff said,a genius!!!!ps aliens is my favourite film ,imagine those fims witout his work!?

Very good documentary. But I must point out, it’s AITCH not HAITCH.

The background ambient noises are way too loud and obnoxious. I'm barely at the part where you introduced his parents and this loud screech happens. Im sorry but do better

Thank you for pronouncing his name correctly. I've heard people call him Geiger, as in Geiger counter.

Gigers work being repetitive is exactly what it is! He uses rhythm and repetition to draw the eye across the page, to entrap and guide the viewer’s eye. It’s a major part of his work and very much why people are drawn “into” his work. The human eye needs understanding to move on.. it’s natures way.

I love Giger and Escher and, because of your video, Laurie Lipton. There's just something about these three that really appeals to me more than most art, of course there's many others from Heironymous Bosch to Francis Bacon and I am stoked to have accidentally found your channel because I can always add to my list of favourites.

Love Gigers art work, I have tattoos inspired by his work and I currently own all his artbooks I got them for £40 each about 10 years ago, the price may have gone up but I'm not selling.

Crazy how some of his work could relate to the new Ai on human evolution video. It’s weird but I don’t know

An art teacher I know tells me my stuff reminds them of Giger . . .

He also made the artwork for a video game called Dark Seed. Really cool.

when u said about the Egyptian Corpse "he saw the beauty in it" I was like "ohhhh, he wasnt shagging it was he, oh no "

Can you imagine this guy showing up as your interior decorator?

Giger also designed the microphone of korn vocalist Jonathan davis

Great documentary however more can be talked about his work with Tom Warrior of the bands Celtic Frost and Triptykon. The album cover to To Mega Therion is just as iconic as the Alien. And talking about other artists related to metal music, you should make a video on Mariusz Lewandowski who passed away recently. Very similar art to Beksinski!

This is the best video I have ever seen about Giger. Well done! Thank you! Love all the old photographs too. It’s crazy how Fox studios would not give him credit after literally creating it in the first place! Thus contributing to their success on the franchise! How selfish and evil that is! It looks like Ridley Scott was the one who felt that Giger deserved the respect he should have. I worked on Poltergeist 2. I remember seeing Giger’s drawings of the main monster in the movie. It didn’t last long unfortunately on the screen but it was great to have seen the drawings. One big reason I wanted to work on it was because of Giger doing the conceptual work for the movie. Also, while we worked on Poltergeist 2 we heard a rumor that when his wife had died he had arranged for her body to be boiled so that all that remained was her skeleton. In which he hung in his house/studio. Be fitting for him to do that. To then think and say that “she was around still”.

I remember seeing his art in the 80's. I didn't even know his name. I think some may have ended up in Omni magazine. Very cool. Thank you.

Giger was awesome. I had a tattoo of one of his works one time but the tattooist messed it up. I ended up having it lasered off. 😄

I'm a big HR Giger fan and went to his museum last year. ( luckily for a german it isn't a long trip). I totally can recommend to visit this place! the bar is a little bit expensive but the museum is like 9-15 €. When i went into it i was welcomed by my fav Giger painting and instantly cried xD . The Museum has 3 floors full of his art and his privat art collection. there is also a little room with the head from species and some scribbles from his book ,, the Mistery of San Gottardo". This was the only part of the museum where i really felt terrified from his art. Besides the museum and bar i visited his crave and spended a few minutes there to pay respect to him. Also Gruyères is a really beautiful place with good cheese and chocolat.Only point i didn't liked was the tourists where went to the museum without really liking his art and making fun of it. There was a family when i went into the museum for the second time and they' said all the time how disgusting this shit is. I was really offended at that moment but i tryed to just enjoy his art and not to care about them.

Giger also did Danzig album cover for how the gods kill

You should look into the creatures from Midway's "The Suffering" game. Extremely graphic, yet perceptive and profound in the stories they tell. Deeply Silent Hill-like

When I was 13-14 years old I fell in love with H.R Gigers Art. He is really “One Of A Kind” and his art is so deep and extreme and makes people feel these paintings right into your bones and soul👍😉💙

I'd love a Crowley video he's such an interesting figure

Not to be “that guy” but it is pronounced “nuclear” as opposed to “nucular”

i wish we could see the hr giger version of dune. that would have been insane

Excellent stuff as always. Looking at all these Giger paintings is like looking at the inside of every Alien ship

You need to stop "th-fronting" which is pronouncing "th" as an "f" or a "v".

I'm a painter and I have a book of his work. It's my most treasured book. He was a huge influence on my art. A singular individual.

The xenomorph is a very close copy of a real-life tiny sea creature.

Hans Rudolf Gieger won an Oscar for Alien,sadly we lost him in 2014.

I bought Necronomicon I after loving this video