I'm totally a sci-fi junkie and H.R. Giger is truly a master
artist in the genre of fantastic realism. I first came across his work through
his designs for Alien. Lately, with
the release of Prometheus, his art came
up on my radar again.
Now, his work is...out there. His style is so unique that it
has its own term: biomechanical, where human bodies and machines enmesh. And
yes, there is a bit of a "yig" factor to some of his work, but in terms of
execution? He's amazing.
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H.R. Giger has an amazing way of manipulating a very limited
color palette into an extraordinary range of color. |
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I always assumed that his artworks were predominately pencil
drawings. The monochromatic gradation he's known for seemed like it could only
be made with a drawing pencil. But I was off. In fact, Giger often used an airbrush to
create his grisaille paintings and now draws mostly in pastel or ink.
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Galerie Carré Blanc by H.R. Giger, (drawing
from the 700 Years of Waiting series),
1991, ink drawing on transcop.
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What's most intriguing about Giger's career is that he
started out as a "regular" two-dimensional artist, working on paper, but that
was just the beginning. He took the objects and visions of his imagination, probably made pencil drawing or a pen and ink drawing of them, and then his artistic world kind of exploded around
him. He did album covers, architectural designs, a museum, and movie after
movie. But it all started with drawing pencil sketches in a notebook just like
the rest of us work.
Giger's artistic trajectory shows how drawing can be such a
catalyst for artists--a starting point for amazing work and growth if we really
commit to it. Our latest Drawing 2011 CD gives you all of Drawing magazine's issues for an entire year in one disc. As I was
browsing through it I realized, yet again, just how wild drawing is--how many
unusual and curious as well as skillful works are being done with pencil
drawings, charcoal, and more. Enjoy discovering that
wider world for yourself--and putting your own mark on it!
