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Giger
H.R. Giger's multi-faceted career: From surrealistic dream landscapes to album cover designs and sculptures
For decades H.R. Giger (1940--2014) 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, from 1962 till 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 sculptures. 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 Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects (1980).
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 illustrations with explanatory captions
For decades H.R. Giger (1940--2014) 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, from 1962 till 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 sculptures. 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 Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects (1980).
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 illustrations with explanatory captions
95 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2018
18 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
H.R. Giger
63 books212 followersHans Ruedi Giger (1940 - 2014) was an Academy Award-winning Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer best known for his design work on the film Alien.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
October 1, 2025
4.75/5
Giger, best known for his work on Alien, is on full display as an artist here. The sections on his childhood and early experiences were really insightful into how he came to produce the art that he did, and his early artwork is definitely underappreciated when it comes to Giger retrospectives. As a severely underrepresented medium in the art world, the airbrush shines through here as a technique, giving some of the works the impression of photorealism; put here humorously on page 45-46: «The Dutch customs once thought my pictures were photos. Where on earth did they think I could have photographed my subjects? In Hell, perhaps?»
My favourite piece of his is Necronomicon IV (unfortunately not featured in this book) and I find the way he elevates the horror of his artwork with sexual imagery, especially in the Necronomicon series, so imaginative and unique. I don’t know exactly how much Giger was involved in the conceptualisation process for the monster of Alien itself, but the alien oral male impregnation (never want to write that sentence again) is so stunningly horrifying and so intelligently subverts the typical female-victim trope of most horror movies, and you can definitely see the groundwork for those ideas in Giger’s works.
His works outside of Alien are definitely not a let down for people coming from that film, and this book would definitely still be worth it even if he never designed for the film. The only criticism I can give the artwork is that sometimes the sexual aspects are too on the nose and can distract from the strange beauty of his portraits and landscapes.
While being intensely disturbing, Giger manages to capture something deep inside everybody’s humanity, and cross through time to the very biological, primal aspects of our bodies and to the technological world we now inhabit. A definitive introduction to his artwork and a must-read for alternative artists.
Giger, best known for his work on Alien, is on full display as an artist here. The sections on his childhood and early experiences were really insightful into how he came to produce the art that he did, and his early artwork is definitely underappreciated when it comes to Giger retrospectives. As a severely underrepresented medium in the art world, the airbrush shines through here as a technique, giving some of the works the impression of photorealism; put here humorously on page 45-46: «The Dutch customs once thought my pictures were photos. Where on earth did they think I could have photographed my subjects? In Hell, perhaps?»
My favourite piece of his is Necronomicon IV (unfortunately not featured in this book) and I find the way he elevates the horror of his artwork with sexual imagery, especially in the Necronomicon series, so imaginative and unique. I don’t know exactly how much Giger was involved in the conceptualisation process for the monster of Alien itself, but the alien oral male impregnation (never want to write that sentence again) is so stunningly horrifying and so intelligently subverts the typical female-victim trope of most horror movies, and you can definitely see the groundwork for those ideas in Giger’s works.
His works outside of Alien are definitely not a let down for people coming from that film, and this book would definitely still be worth it even if he never designed for the film. The only criticism I can give the artwork is that sometimes the sexual aspects are too on the nose and can distract from the strange beauty of his portraits and landscapes.
While being intensely disturbing, Giger manages to capture something deep inside everybody’s humanity, and cross through time to the very biological, primal aspects of our bodies and to the technological world we now inhabit. A definitive introduction to his artwork and a must-read for alternative artists.
August 20, 2023
Normalmente es un riesgo leer a un artista que escribe sobre su obra, pero en el caso de Giger consigue difuminar las fronteras entre su biografía y la de sus cuadros.
Al mismo tiempo, es sorprendente cómo consigue plasmar un conseguido erotismo, aunque sea momentos, sin desplazarse ni un milímetro de lo fálico. Esto no quiere decir que el resto del tiempo sea hortera y grosero cuando trata el sexo (y lo trata mucho)
Dicho esto, aún busco un buen texto que desarrolle las claras relaciones entre el aceleracionismo antihumanista y lo biomecanoide de giger. Espabilad en la academia y alimentadme
Al mismo tiempo, es sorprendente cómo consigue plasmar un conseguido erotismo, aunque sea momentos, sin desplazarse ni un milímetro de lo fálico. Esto no quiere decir que el resto del tiempo sea hortera y grosero cuando trata el sexo (y lo trata mucho)
Dicho esto, aún busco un buen texto que desarrolle las claras relaciones entre el aceleracionismo antihumanista y lo biomecanoide de giger. Espabilad en la academia y alimentadme
December 31, 2021
Closing out the year with an H.R. Giger artbook/autobiography. The text sections give a rough overview of Giger's life and career focusing mostly on his childhood and introduction in art and then the various film projects he got involved in. Young Giger comes off as a twerp, something Giger himself seems aware of as he marvels at his father's restraint in having never struck him.
The text sections can be a little intrusive but the book does try to make sure that much of Giger's actual art takes centerstage. The text is autobiographical covering the highlights in Giger's career but while it mentions a lot of the work featured it often doesn't go much into detail about them. Hearing the artist's conceptualization of the pieces, particularly in the nuances between pieces of the same series. There are some exceptions to this, like explaining how seeing a german trash truck inspired a series of paintings.
The art itself is gorgeous. Giger commands an unparalleled ability to meld organic curves and rigid technological lines. The way the human form blends into machine is breath-taking. The overt sexual quality of much of his work is striking. It isn't there merely to be titillating but also seems to imply a deep penetration of technology into our lives, into our very beings. I will note that while Giger does put phallic images into almost everything, the humanoid forms in the book are almost always feminine and while I don't think they come off as sexy it does mean that there's a male gaze to a lot of the art. Perhaps that's an intentional thing and Giger was trying to call attention to the sexualization of form, of sexualizing something that is not sexual in adding human form to technological imagery. Or perhaps he was something of a fuckboi as the first line of the text is about what an early age he became fascinated with women.
The best images for my money are the ones that are landscapes. Vistas of land overrun with wires, cables, and metal tentacles. Human forms meld in and out of these static landscapes creating a wonderment of where our environment ends and we begin. And of what our environment will become as we change it and ourselves.
The text sections can be a little intrusive but the book does try to make sure that much of Giger's actual art takes centerstage. The text is autobiographical covering the highlights in Giger's career but while it mentions a lot of the work featured it often doesn't go much into detail about them. Hearing the artist's conceptualization of the pieces, particularly in the nuances between pieces of the same series. There are some exceptions to this, like explaining how seeing a german trash truck inspired a series of paintings.
The art itself is gorgeous. Giger commands an unparalleled ability to meld organic curves and rigid technological lines. The way the human form blends into machine is breath-taking. The overt sexual quality of much of his work is striking. It isn't there merely to be titillating but also seems to imply a deep penetration of technology into our lives, into our very beings. I will note that while Giger does put phallic images into almost everything, the humanoid forms in the book are almost always feminine and while I don't think they come off as sexy it does mean that there's a male gaze to a lot of the art. Perhaps that's an intentional thing and Giger was trying to call attention to the sexualization of form, of sexualizing something that is not sexual in adding human form to technological imagery. Or perhaps he was something of a fuckboi as the first line of the text is about what an early age he became fascinated with women.
The best images for my money are the ones that are landscapes. Vistas of land overrun with wires, cables, and metal tentacles. Human forms meld in and out of these static landscapes creating a wonderment of where our environment ends and we begin. And of what our environment will become as we change it and ourselves.
July 28, 2020
A pleasant surprise—the text appears to have been written by Giger sometime before 1981 (the date of the prologue by Timothy Leary). In other words, the illustrations of biomechanical horror are accompanied by an autobiographical first-person voice, describing events, anecdotes, and background happenings. More insightful than a standard biography, and actually fun!
April 5, 2020
A good, short, introduction to H.R. Giger's work, with a foreward written by Timothy Leary, and Giger's commentary alongside the illustrations.
December 28, 2021
A short but enjoyable tour of Giger's life and works
April 25, 2022
Wish it had more.
September 20, 2024
obsessed
November 8, 2025
Aquí 🙋🏻♀️, una fanática de las películas de "Alien", y por eso había que leer este libro. Giger mente creadora del diseño de la película, muy interesante conocer algo más de él. 🖤
July 9, 2023
Kind of a soft autobiography of Gigers life. It focuses more on his early life and in some of the most important moments of his career.
Love the arts in the pages. It makes the book totally worth it.
Love the arts in the pages. It makes the book totally worth it.
December 15, 2024
Siempre es un placer reencontrarse con la vida y obra del visionario e influyente H.R. Giger, cuya obra descubrí sobre 1990 y desde entonces forma parte de mi imaginario personal.
August 19, 2019
A fantastic introduction to H R Giger and his brilliant human-mechanistic artwork (some of it including his Oscar-winning work for Alien). The autobiographical work talks about his own influences and journey as an artist. I picked this up at the H R Giger Museum in Gruyeres, Switzerland and it was a really informatic read about his work over several decades.
The print of the artwork as also well done and quality of book printing is also nice. A true window into the mind of a unique artist.
The print of the artwork as also well done and quality of book printing is also nice. A true window into the mind of a unique artist.
May 20, 2025
Für die Größe und das gewählte Format voll mit Informationen über Giger und den bekanntesten seiner Werke in qualitativem Print.
May 24, 2021
Es un libro breve, en palabras de un artista que, a pesar de su increíble talento y su sinvergüenza, tal vez era muy tímido al referirse a su vida. Sin embargo, entre los pocos párrafos que componen el libro, se asoma su mente, los miedos que le invadían, y la inspiración que pudo obtener del mundo exterior, su familia, sus parejas, y la sombra de un futuro amenazador. Es surreal, oscuro, tétrico, pero vale la pena.
January 17, 2019
Bastante chiva cuando describe sus interacciones con Jodorowsky y Dalí.
Lo que más me llama la atención es como obras tan grotescas y macabras puedan ser tan estéticas.
Lo que más me llama la atención es como obras tan grotescas y macabras puedan ser tan estéticas.
August 3, 2022
Darkly beautiful reflections of a very dark mind.
I had no idea until now that this was the mastermind behind the morbid, fascinating creature of the Alien franchise, but some of his other work makes that look like child's play, and learning about the man behind the art was almost more intriguing than viewing the art itself. Giger's anecdotes illustrate how so much of his work was inspired by the same obsessions and fears that began in his early life - women, weapons, worm-like creatures, death, and ghosts. Much of his work pays homage to the dark sides of these subjects not only with their color scheme (various black and gray tones which, for some reason, remind me of early X-ray crystallography images), but also in their oddly structured nature and an abundance of phallic and sexual symbolism.
I may not be a diehard fan like the writer of the foreword - Giger's work doesn't exactly send me into poetic rhapsodies - but I love the "biomechanical" aesthetic for which his art is famous. At the end of the day our bodies are, in a sense, highly evolved machines with a precisely regulated array of functions to keep us alive. To visualize our internal machinery using gears and springs and the like - while simultaneously illustrating the flip side of our existence, our darkest desires and fears, takes a very unique mind with a penchant for the ominous. And I love how, with the then highly-disdained airbrush, Giger managed to produce works of such realism that he was even questioned at one point whether they weren't actual photos.
My 2 favorite works from his collection are Li I and Li II, particularly memorable because of Li Tobler's tragic fate and how they almost seem like posthumous homages to her struggles. The paintings where her face makes an appearance seem to have a surreal aspect to them simply because of that presence. But I guess that's the essence of the word "surreal" - it wouldn't exist without the "real." And whether I like all his art or not, I can definitely say that H.R. Giger was a master of the surreal, as well as the shocking and provocative. I'd recommend his art to anyone who likes horror and is up for some interesting dreams (and/or nightmares).
I had no idea until now that this was the mastermind behind the morbid, fascinating creature of the Alien franchise, but some of his other work makes that look like child's play, and learning about the man behind the art was almost more intriguing than viewing the art itself. Giger's anecdotes illustrate how so much of his work was inspired by the same obsessions and fears that began in his early life - women, weapons, worm-like creatures, death, and ghosts. Much of his work pays homage to the dark sides of these subjects not only with their color scheme (various black and gray tones which, for some reason, remind me of early X-ray crystallography images), but also in their oddly structured nature and an abundance of phallic and sexual symbolism.
I may not be a diehard fan like the writer of the foreword - Giger's work doesn't exactly send me into poetic rhapsodies - but I love the "biomechanical" aesthetic for which his art is famous. At the end of the day our bodies are, in a sense, highly evolved machines with a precisely regulated array of functions to keep us alive. To visualize our internal machinery using gears and springs and the like - while simultaneously illustrating the flip side of our existence, our darkest desires and fears, takes a very unique mind with a penchant for the ominous. And I love how, with the then highly-disdained airbrush, Giger managed to produce works of such realism that he was even questioned at one point whether they weren't actual photos.
My 2 favorite works from his collection are Li I and Li II, particularly memorable because of Li Tobler's tragic fate and how they almost seem like posthumous homages to her struggles. The paintings where her face makes an appearance seem to have a surreal aspect to them simply because of that presence. But I guess that's the essence of the word "surreal" - it wouldn't exist without the "real." And whether I like all his art or not, I can definitely say that H.R. Giger was a master of the surreal, as well as the shocking and provocative. I'd recommend his art to anyone who likes horror and is up for some interesting dreams (and/or nightmares).
November 23, 2025
The privilege and/or curse of being able to see artists' brains due to the era we live in. Maybe the mystique of names like Bosch or Bruegel elevates their works for some but I do like that I can read about Giger from Giger and have a window into that mad brain of his. And a madman he was, as singular as geniuses go. Probably my all time favorite artist who completely changed my perspective on art. Being as lauded as him whilst being as morose, graphic and extreme feels incredibly good so it's no accident that his art was featured by certain bands I like, most notably his co-operations with Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost, Hellhammer and Triyptkon fame with whom he was friends with for a number of years.
As this friendship was well documented in "Dark Star" documentary I've seen a couple of times, I loved reading about Giger's early pre-air brush days and of his childhood as well as takes on the supernatural and superstitions.
And by seeing how he structures sentences we can gauge his direct, fluff-less approach to art and life.
He learned to just do things instead of preparing for and it's this stream of consciousness-meets-shadow self that defined his career that never ceases to amaze. All those masterpieces one-taked. Expectedly, he does have a bluntness and weirdness about him and I'm sure he would not be the most joyous of interlocutors but I'm sure he had insane amounts of esoteric knowledge and interests, his train rides being the coolest and most telling. If you start making elaborate thrill rides in your teenage years, you'll surely have a good grasp on engineering, usage of space and basically everything that would later become his signature styles.
His obsession with women was evident through his work and did not hide from it, in fact this is a very open narration of his career and it was a pleasure to read through. Naturally, the accompanying art pieces will be revisited every now and then. Amazing amazing showcase of Giger, highly recommended for any fan or interested soul!
As this friendship was well documented in "Dark Star" documentary I've seen a couple of times, I loved reading about Giger's early pre-air brush days and of his childhood as well as takes on the supernatural and superstitions.
And by seeing how he structures sentences we can gauge his direct, fluff-less approach to art and life.
He learned to just do things instead of preparing for and it's this stream of consciousness-meets-shadow self that defined his career that never ceases to amaze. All those masterpieces one-taked. Expectedly, he does have a bluntness and weirdness about him and I'm sure he would not be the most joyous of interlocutors but I'm sure he had insane amounts of esoteric knowledge and interests, his train rides being the coolest and most telling. If you start making elaborate thrill rides in your teenage years, you'll surely have a good grasp on engineering, usage of space and basically everything that would later become his signature styles.
His obsession with women was evident through his work and did not hide from it, in fact this is a very open narration of his career and it was a pleasure to read through. Naturally, the accompanying art pieces will be revisited every now and then. Amazing amazing showcase of Giger, highly recommended for any fan or interested soul!
May 18, 2021
This book was remarkably different than any of the other "Basic Art Series" as it was entirely written by Giger himself. Still this was a lovely addition to my ever growing art history book shelf. Giger is an artist I've recently begun to explore and learn about and I'm rather frustrated with how little his work has been studied and appreciated outside of his contribution to the Alien franchise. This book gives the reader an opportunity to observe Giger's large body of work, observing several of his best well known pieces, as well as some works which have appeared elsewhere.
Giger's work is often described as nightmarish, surreal, horrific, and even obscene. And while I agree his work can be shocking when first witnessed, what I come to over and over again is how his work manages to observe the human body in relation to machinery which seems ever-present in this contemporary existence. Probably no other artist I can think of so perfectly explores the blending of human beings and machines, and even if these visions are at times horrific, they still challenge the viewer to consider the ways in which death, industry, decay, and the human form all interact together to form one of the most distinct and unforgettable aesthetics.
Giger's work is often described as nightmarish, surreal, horrific, and even obscene. And while I agree his work can be shocking when first witnessed, what I come to over and over again is how his work manages to observe the human body in relation to machinery which seems ever-present in this contemporary existence. Probably no other artist I can think of so perfectly explores the blending of human beings and machines, and even if these visions are at times horrific, they still challenge the viewer to consider the ways in which death, industry, decay, and the human form all interact together to form one of the most distinct and unforgettable aesthetics.
September 29, 2021
a short introduction to the brilliant HR Giger by Giger himself. Giger's entries are personal anecdotes from different stages of his life. some which have in some way influenced his style (maybe the horrible godforsaken photos of Lingchi made the Giger we know!). lots of Giger's amazing art which have influenced so many artists after him that it's almost impossible not come across one. his application of airbrushing is so brilliantly done in a away that gives a gruesome realism to his organic mechanoids, the way he renders the organic connective tissue holding bodily organs with an airbrush is superb! the guy is definitely ahead of his time. my only complaint is that the narrative of the book isn't done in a chronological order, which doesn't allow the reader to follow how his art evolved over the years. also it would have been super awesome if there are more pictures of his paintings in different stages, I totally love seeing such things. great book anyway.
December 15, 2021
This was a really interesting read. Although, I wish the book had been written as a biography not an autobiography. (I enjoyed the timeline at the end that focused more on major events and art pieces). I found the passages Giger wrote to be quite odd and at times he sounded like a bit of an a$$:
“Connections in the art world? Yes -and how. Without them, artists of equal rink would be given equal treatment, and that would be unfair. Someone who is beautiful, clever, intelligent and sexy by nature should be favored”
“Even as a child I was eager to impress the fair sex”
Although Gigers writing was unusual his artwork was incredible. His airbrush artwork is so impressive. I also had no clue that Giger created the sketches for the movie Alien, and was involved in Dune, and Poltergeist II.
“Connections in the art world? Yes -and how. Without them, artists of equal rink would be given equal treatment, and that would be unfair. Someone who is beautiful, clever, intelligent and sexy by nature should be favored”
“Even as a child I was eager to impress the fair sex”
Although Gigers writing was unusual his artwork was incredible. His airbrush artwork is so impressive. I also had no clue that Giger created the sketches for the movie Alien, and was involved in Dune, and Poltergeist II.
February 18, 2024
I love Taschen's Basic Art series.
Giger is an absolutely fascinating overview of the artist's life and work by the artist himself. Copious illustrations and examples of Giger's work accompany the text. Giger talks about his childhood obsessions (suspender fasteners among them), the work he did for Alien and Jodorowsky's unrealized Dune, his love life, his work with airbrush, the Dead Kennedys getting in legal trouble because they included "Landscape XX" (the so-called "Penis Landscape") in one of their records, and more. An intriguing, engaging, fascinating book by and about a very unique artist. It also includes a profoundly trippy foreword by Timothy Leary.
Giger is an absolutely fascinating overview of the artist's life and work by the artist himself. Copious illustrations and examples of Giger's work accompany the text. Giger talks about his childhood obsessions (suspender fasteners among them), the work he did for Alien and Jodorowsky's unrealized Dune, his love life, his work with airbrush, the Dead Kennedys getting in legal trouble because they included "Landscape XX" (the so-called "Penis Landscape") in one of their records, and more. An intriguing, engaging, fascinating book by and about a very unique artist. It also includes a profoundly trippy foreword by Timothy Leary.
July 27, 2025
A very nice book to get to know the man responsible for creating the xenomorph creature from the "Alien" series. Written by the man himself, Giger portrays his own life through the work he's created, having a look to the contributions with different bands and musicians such as Dead Kennedys and Celtic Frost, just to name a few. Also, you can read and see in the book some of the anecdotes related to the Oscar award he received, his interest in occultism, eroticism, guns, horror literature, among others. Quite fun and enjoyable if you like Giger's biomechanical art.
December 4, 2025
Amazing and sometimes disturbing art work. I can see why he was chosen to do Alien. What an amazing imagination. I didn't bother to read much of the text, being only interested in his work. I did note that his work was rather repetitive, with very similar themes and ideas. His technique was very impressive. I bet psychologists would have a field day analyzing him based on his graphics. Lots of nightmarish visuals. Lots of his work was stunning but repetitive.
May 9, 2020
Mroczne cipki i siusiaki. Wydanie ktore posiadam ma troche inna okladke. Przekrojowy artbook tworcy ,,Obcego,, wzbogacony o kilka ciekawych historyjek z zycia artysty. Troche niezrozumialym zabiegiem jest powielanie tych samych tekstow w trzech jezykach przez cala ksiazke.
January 1, 2022
Es una expansión de Giger Arh+ en tamaño y algunas imágenes, el texto es el mismo. Esto no es problema si uno lo toma por primera vez pero lo obtuve pensando que encontraría más información y observaciones más allá de la fecha de vencimiento de mi muchacho.
Te extraño Giger.
Te extraño Giger.
February 11, 2022
A must have for any Giger fan!! My only criticism is that afew of the paintings are spread across two pages, so you can't really look at the full picture properly without breaking the spine. But other than that, it is a great brief overview of Giger's career. Smashing!
December 12, 2023
Yo conocí a Giger gracias a Antonio García Villarán, un youtuber muy bueno que promueve el arte. En serio me quedé flipando con Giger y su arte, a pesar de que no lo encontré para valorar también el libro de su obra completa, que si te interesa solo su arte también te sirve
October 29, 2024
Such a breath of fresh air to have the artist themselves write about their life. It gives a sense of what the artist was actually like and provides more of the spirit of the individual. The pictures are haunting - I don't usually go for the whole gothic style but Giger was something special.
May 25, 2020
Giger is an absolute visionary!
December 26, 2020
Creepy art. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews