ARh+

by H.R. Giger

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 filmAlien 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

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Horror, Biography, Reference, Art and Photography, Comics

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Hans 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.

Reviews

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nuestro lenguaje primitivo y pre-científico dispone de pocas expresiones para comunicar los siniestros y terroríficos hechos que nos revela Giger(...)
La obra de Giger nos confunde y perturba debido a su enorme dimensión evolutiva y nos produce una impresión fantasmagórica. Nos muestra casi demasiado claramente de donde venimos y hacia donde vamos"
Timothy Leary

"Es una pena que uno tenga que guardarse para si los hechos mas interesantes,pues no estoy muy seguro de que tales instancias caduquen, a medida que envejezco, mas miedoso me vuelvo, puesto que creo que un hombre como yo no siempre puede tener suerte"
H.R. Giger

Yo lo definiría como una "lobotomía biográfica"
Adentrándonos en la mente y en el arte de este genio bastante perturbado.
Sus obsesiones,miedos, perversiones...
Aunque sorprendentemente era bastante humano .Con lo que eso conlleva: defectos,virtudes, y hasta un poco de sentido del humor.
Un repaso por algunas de sus obras mas icónicas, su participación en Alien, dos proyecto truncos de Dune, y alguna de sus muchísimas colaboraciones con músicos. También algunas historias bastante curiosas e interesantes.

No es fácil, ni es para cualquiera adentrarse en la mente de un personaje como este y en su arte tan única y maravillosa, así como sombría, perturbadora e incomprendida. Pero para el que lo sepa apreciar, o como objeto de estudio/investigación es ampliamente recomendado.

[Ajeje Brazov · Rating 4 out of 5]

H. R. Giger è l'artista dell'occulto, dell'oscuro, visionario, estremo.
Nacque in Svizzera e già dai primi anni di vita si vede in lui una vena artistica innata. In questo libricino Giger si racconta, è un'autobiografia anarchica, perlopiù Giger ci racconta la sua vita artistica, il suo percorso artistico, attraverso aneddoti di vita vissuta.
Andiamo dalla realizzazione della "Camera scura o nera", ideata da Giger in età adolescenziale, più che altro per impressionare le ragazze, magari affascinarle e...
Oppure una serie di dipinti sui suoi sogni dei "Pozzi", o ancora la sua ossessione verso i "Passaggi", ecc...
Le sue opere sono caratterizzate da uno sfondo di horror/meccanico, ma anche dal tema erotico.
Autore del mostro di Alien di Ridley Scott e molti altri.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCFx1...

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.R. Giger's art is eerie but has an oddly divine and metallic quality to it. It's like Dante's Inferno crossed with cyberpunk nightmares like Blade Runner, The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell and Akira. It represents the fear he once held for where the human race was heading in the dark and unknown future. He's responsible for the iconic designs of the Ridley Scott Alien franchise.

Very cool.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aliens Aliens Aliens!!!

For those who love the work of HR Giger, as I do, you will enjoy this book filled with the images of the Alien genre.

Giger's style, which he called "biomechanical," combined organic and mechanical elements, which is seen in the Alien's design.

The paper is top-notch, and color plates are filled with Gigers' brilliant drawings.

96 pages are rich with his amazing images of the memorable horrific creations.

[Leothefox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good one for someone who wants to get a Giger book but can't find or afford one of the three coffee-table sized art books. There are also some drawings and photos that don't appear in any of the other books, including some production stuff for "Alien".

I've actually purchased this book 4 different times, I think from 4 different printings of it (helps that it only cost like $10 each time).

Like most Giger books, this one has a special spot in my childhood memories since I took it along with me on one of the family road trips. Nobody else will associate this book with Foreigner or Zion national park, but that's where it sits in my mind.

Anyhow, Giger rules and this book conveys that, which is good.

[Dan'S_mind · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must've browsed this one, a gazillion times
I still recall how I picked it up, on a whim, as a freshman starting all over in a new town, on Kent county.

There was this poster shop, in a corner, where every guy, went around to pick a poster for his room-oouh well I couldn't find anything to suit my taste and I took out this one, searching frantically for Giger posters-alas there were only photoshoped models & luxurious car, to suit every taste, but no art, or anything resembling biomechanoids /& lustfull still lifes (on the act), or any DeathHeads, lying around.

If I could reverse the clock, I'ld go back & search on the bookshelves of a tattoo-inker, I am hearing his creations, have amassed a cult following amognst them

[Kitap · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Giger, you see more than we domesticated primates." - Timothy Leary, PhD

The foreword alone is excellent. Although Dr. Leary's praise for L.A.'s post-urban, freeway-intensive lifestyle seems pretty ludicrous in the Age of Peak Oil, his praise for Giger's artwork says it all:

Giger has become the official portrait photographer for the Golden Age of Biology.... Giger's work disturbs us, spooks us because of its enormous evolutionary time-span. It shows us all too clearly, where we came from and where we are going. He reaches back into our biological memories. He takes baby pictures of us eight months before we were born.... Giger mercilessly shows us the anabolism and catabolism of our realities.... Giger gives us courage to say 'hello' to our insectoid selves.... Giger's fleshscapes, his microscopic slides are signals to mutate.

Indeed. Giger is a visionary artist (think Dali or Bosch) of the Shadowy places where biology and technology come together. As he notes somewhere in the book, our new biological technologies (presumably genetic engineering) will teach us anew the meaning of fear. I'm not so sure he's as keen on the direction mutation will take us as was Dr. Leary, but he plumbs its depths nonetheless.

[Xisix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought a hardback copy other day .... had read this book previously many years back. Was entertaining to revisit the dark stories and images of Giger. Appreciate images of yesteryear and to note development from ink drawings to airbrush. Have some other Giger books that purchased in the mail that anxious to receive.

[Slap Happy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually, I look at the art for these art books and nothing else. Here, I actually read the thing from front to back. Giger's ancedotes were fun stuff to read. The man's got a sense of humor. What? There isn't any way of analysis of his works here, but details about his life and how the artists tells things illuminates some things about his works, I think.

All 'n all, an enjoyable read, but I still don't like his art. Minus one star.

[Antonia M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un repaso de la vida y carrera artística de Giger y a través de sus dibujos muestra lo central que es el erotismo en sus obras, mientras que su narracion da indicios de la oscuridad que estas reflejan

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My paintings seem to make the strongest impression on people who are, well, who are crazy"

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I don't think it's actually possible to incorporate H.R. Giger's entire imagination into one 90 some odd page book. However, the book itself does not mean to do such a thing. Instead, it gives a biographical representation of Giger coupled with some of his work in the past years. What I like most about the book is that it gives the same amount of attention to his well known works, such as Alien and Species, as it does to his lesser known works.

The book, itself, isn't written all that well. The tidbits of writing provided are choppy and poorly delivered. It is, however, an art book and that is what it provides. Art needs very few words (if any at all) to communicate meaning and so, therefore, most of the paragraphs within are biographical and dry. This is not something you pick up for the story of Giger's life, but rather the representation provided through his impressive artwork.

For a coffee table or just to have for your own personal enjoyment, this book strikes a chord in all that are willing to open their eyes to the dark and twisted imaginings of the genius that is H.R.G.

[Alfrediux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book, I enjoyed that the different stages of Giger's work, from his childhood "haunted alleys" to his work for multimillionaire pictures in Hollywood like Dune, and The Alien Saga. And each one of said stages is narrated by Giger himself in a a dark humorous tone, from his childhood days to his mainstream success era. Only cons of this little book is that illustrations sometimes get crammed together or aren't very large, however Tashen editorial makes beautiful books and this one is no exception. Recommended as primer for Giger fans, looking to introduce themselves in to the artist's mind ans body of work.

[Cvetomir Denchev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief but nevertheless thorough autobiographic venture by Swiss surrealist H. R. Giger - one of the most important contributors to the Alien franchise through being the main designer of the set and the infamous extra-terrestial. The book will take you on a trip through Giger's early childhood memories, his maturehood, his first steps as an artist and will introduce you to the mentality of the surrealist movement, with Giger sharing memories from some of his personal experiences from his contancs with other artist of the genre such as Friedrich Kun and Salvador Dali.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my first contact with Giger, and back then I just couldn't believe what I was holding in my hands, it impressed me in such a way that for a moment I was even scared of buying this book. Then of course I bought it, and that's a decision I will never regret.

This is an awesome way to get to know Giger, it has a great selection of his art and I actually liked the anecdotes he tells. I can't recommend it enough.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this at the Geiger Museum. I was a little disappointed they didn't have any of their own publications, just mostly Taschen ones. But this was definitely worth getting. It is a lovely art book with many of his best paintings but what makes this best for me is that instead of other people talking about his art it has Geiger talking about his memories of growing up and what the different things that he's done which makes it seem much more personal and authentic.

[Tobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely ‘MUST HAVE’ for all fans of ALIEN series. Fir better understanding why Alien was shaped in their shape. But it is not only about Ridley Scott’s Best SciFi.

If you are in to ProgRock the you are familiar with great cover of brain Salad Surgery album by Emerson Lake Palmer band.

Plus many many more. Almost one hundred pages, over one hundred artworks and deep view into HIS brain, soul, feelings, understanding.

Released by Taschen so quality is very high.

[Leah Jenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARh+ is a fascinating little artbook filled with interesting personal anecdotes. Giger is one of my favorite artists so I'd already seen most of the paintings within, but his personal stories kept me entertained. I was particularly amused by his two accounts of strange goings-on with his 'devil head.'

[Babak Fakhamzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Swiss artist was of course responsible for the imagery used in the Alien movies. Back in the 80s, I thought his art breathtaking, otherworldly, mysterious, spooky, gloomy, but also sensual. Even now, his work is still interestingly spooky, though Giger was also the vanguard of a host of more similar artists in later years, making his own creations, in today's context, less extraordinary.

[John Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giger, for all his darkness and seeming depravity, is one of my favorite artists out there...has been since I found out he did the f/x and concept art for Alien...
and then I saw his biomechanical work...

Wow.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few pages of biographical material in German and English prefaces about thirty postcards reproducing his recognizable art, some of which are very explicit. This is a Book Supplement to ARh+.

[Kyle Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is, not only a fantastic and affordable collection of Giger's work, but it is also a profound peek into his life and mind. A nifty little biography book tucked underneath some truly haunting, yet beautiful, images.

[Morpheus Lunae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection gives a nice overview over Giger's popular and lesser known works. It's also nice to have Giger retell his past but ... unfortunately he is just not a very good writer. In fact, he is exceptionally terrible at it. This makes the book a bit hard to swallow.

[Eyesontheinside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superior to the newer Taschen Edition because of the bigger format, giving the paintings more space but not if not only because of the Inclusion of the Devils Head in this Book. I was happy to find that my copy was signed by the master himself.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa!!!

[Wendy White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great examples of his work from childhood to the end of the 20th century, some good personal anecdotes mixed in with the work.

[Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

h.r. giger's art is intoxicating. i can stare into those paintings for hours and get completely lost in that world.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense surreal art from the master of the airbrush.

[Eleonora xristova]

i like very mach this book.

[TheDenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giger is one fucked up dude. This book makes me want a gun that fires a clip loaded with unborn babies.