mrwaverly

Just found out that Hans Rudi Giger, the Swiss artist, best known for his conceptual art for the film 'Alien', has died. He was well known in avant garde circles for his artwork, that he developed into what he called 'Biomechanoid' art. Dark, disturbing, terrifying, erotic and arousing, often all at the same time. In about 1978, Ridley Scott, amongst others, engaged him to design elements for a new film he was working on. Giger designed the three stages of the alien xenomorph, the wrecked starship and it's interiors, and the massive 'Space jockey'. He worked, hands on, with the crew creating these superbly alien props. His work was still erotically gynaecological here, even for a populist movie - possibly because nobody noticed the backgrounds because they were too terrified to pay much attention. Look and you notice things that your brain tells you: "That looks like..." The entrance to the derelict, for example - there are three, and they are open vaginas, complete with clitori. The walls inside the wreck are ribbed (formed from castings of cattle bones), and running with moisture, resembling the interior of an albeit vast, vagina. Giger stated that the opening on the alien eggs was inspired by the major and minor genital labia. The 'facehugger' has an ovipositor that is forced down the host's throat in the manner of a violent fellation. The 'chestburster' is white, phallic and ribbed, and the mature xenomorph has a long, smooth head, the back of which looks just like a glans penis. As Giger designed it to be. After 'Alien'' Giger became better known, but his art still pushed boundaries. He designed the artwork for Debbie Harry's (not very good) solo album, whose name escapes me. The cover was of Debbie Harry, nearly naked, with skewers through her face, an image totally at odds with her 'Girl next door' look in Blondie. He also designed her a bodysuit to wear on stage, which, under certain lighting effects made her look naked. Another record sleeve he designed was 'Frankenchrist', by the great Dead Kennedys. This was a gatefold sleeve which was quite beautiful, was deemed as blasphemous, and pulled from the stores. The resultant furore dragged on for years, and destroyed the band. Giger also had books published, the best being 'Giger's Alien', and the superlative 'Necronomicon'. I own copies of both, and 'Necronomicon' bears the distinction, in my memory of being the only book (apart from some 'water sports' magazines of mine she found when I was 17 or so), that really disturbed my late mum. Not surprisingly, Giger was married to a practising witch. I'd loved to have been his neighbour...