On May 12, 2014, Hans-Ruedi Giger succumbed to injuries sustained during a fall. He was 74 years old.
Giger is best known for his work related to Ridley Scott’s film Alien – specifically the xenomorph hunting the cast. The creature’s visage has become a major icon of popular culture, immediately recognizable even to those who’ve never seen it on-screen. It has been recreated in subsequent films as well as in comics and video games games numerous times (notably recent: Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation), and undoubtedly influenced the art of many.
The extent of his presence reaches far beyond a single movie monster. There exists a vast portfolio of strange, haunting, and often sexual paintings credited to his name, in addition to album covers, sculptures, and, believe it or not, a non Alien-related game.
The man may be gone, but the mark he left will continue to unsettle us.
