"... I'm reminded of a giant poster of the "Space Jockey" from Alien adorning my childhood bedroom wall and being blissfully unaware of the nightmare cargo aboard the derelict spacecraft. What fun!"
The above extract is taken from an upcoming co-authored post and is all the more poignant given the sad news of Oscar-winning artist HR Giger's death, at the age of 74, following a fall at his home.
"My paintings seem to make the strongest impression on people who are, well, who are crazy," Giger said in a 1979 interview with Starlog magazine. "If they like my work they are creative ... or they are crazy."
Alongside the late Ralph McQuarrie (Star Wars), Swiss surrealist Giger inspired my nascent imagination and creative impulse amid the pages of Starburst magazine.
Director Ridley Scott hired Giger, as conceptual artist on Alien, after seeing a compendium of his work in 1977's Necronomicon. The titular creature would become one of mainstream cinema's most memorable movie monsters and birth a franchise.
Giger and Scott worked together again on prequel Prometheus, which would dovetail directly into Alien over the course of three movies.
A Pyramid Chamber Ampule prop prize, won in a Sky Movies competition, has pride of place in my home theatre.
Thank you for the beautiful biomechanical nightmares. RIP HR Giger.
