Giger's multi-faceted career: From surrealistic dream landscapes, to album cover designs, and sculpture For the last three decades H.R. Giger has reigned as one of the leading exponents of fantastic art. After he studied interior and industrial design for eight years at the School of Commercial Art in Zurich, Switzerland (1962-1970), he was soon gaining attention as an independent artist, with endeavors ranging from surrealistic dream landscapes created with a spray gun and stencils, to album cover designs for famous pop stars, and sculpture. In addition, Giger's multi-faceted career includes designing two bars, located in Tokyo and Chur, as well as work on various film projects--his creation of the set design and title figure for Ridley Scott's film Alien won him not only international fame but also an award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects (1980). "The more famous I get, the more I am tolerated, albeit with some head-shaking." --H.R. Giger About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The classic status of Alien, the movie, is in large part due to Academy-Award winning artist and designer H.R. Giger. This book provides a complete illustrated record of the months of painstaking work that went into designing the most frightening movie monster of them all.

HR Giger worked in the Shepperton Studios near London from February to November 1978, creating the figures and sets for the film Alien (1979) directed by Ridley Scott. The film became an international success, earning Giger an Oscar. In the transcribed Alien Diaries, published here for the first time as a facsimile, HR Giger describes his work in the studios. He writes, sketches, and takes photographs with his Polaroid SX70. With brutal honesty, sarcasm and occasional despair, Giger describes what it is like working for the film industry and how he struggles against all odds be it the stinginess of producers or the sluggishness of his staff to see his designs become reality. The Alien Diaries (in German transcription with an English translation) show a little-known personal side of the artist HR Giger and offer an unusual, detailed glimpse into the making of a movie classic through the eyes of a Swiss artist. The book contains almost completely unpublished material, including drawings, Polaroids showing the monster coming to life, and several still shots from the plentiful film material that Giger took in Shepperton.

This volume brings together around 200 of Giger's paintings, sketches and photographs, as well as autobiographical passages and the artist's personal reflections on his work.

More than 150 artworks, spanning 20 years in the career of the world's most renowned artist of the fantastical and the surreal, are gathered in one volume, rich with detail and color. Carefully rendered reproductions of Giger's best paintings are accompanied by his own commentary. 70 color illus. 75 b&w illus. 25 b&w photos.

This collectable group of 22 beautifully designed Tarot cards is available in a handsome boxed set in either German or English language. Each card is a careful reproduction of one of Giger's paintings, and is interpreted by philosopher-magician Akron in a booklet of instructions, included with the set. To Akron Tarot is like an inexhaustible mine of symbols, suited to manifest Giger's aesthetics of apocalypse in literary style. Akron resorts to the tradition of the Tarot in order to convey the messages of Baphomet - a medieval secret symbol -- which is of special significance in Giger's work. H.R. Giger is a painter, Oscar-award winner and cult figure of an international artistic community, for which his aesthetics of the apocalypse represent inspiration and spiritual healing. His pictures are gripping, indeed sometimes shocking visions - they shake us from our unconsciousness as they relentlessly point to the hidden inner world of all things. The art of Giger is a journey to the most ancient destination of mankind: to birth and death, love and war, hope and the destruction of life.

Fantasy artist H.R. Giger has turned his creativity to a new movie, Species. The book documents the conception, development and final terrorizing 3D realization of Giger's macabre, otherworldly designs. Included are Giger's original sketches, photos of the film's animatronic puppets and sets, and action stills. 110 photos, 100 in color. 50 line drawings.