H. R. Giger's Retrospective: 1964-1984 [Paperback]

H. R. Giger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 1997

More than 150 artworks, spanning 20 years in the career of the world's most renowned artist of the fantastical and the surreal, are gathered in one volume, rich with detail and color. Carefully rendered reproductions of Giger's best paintings are accompanied by his own commentary. 70 color illus. 75 b&w illus. 25 b&w photos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Morpheus International; English language ed edition (November 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883398290
• ISBN-13: 978-1883398293
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #745,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A strong collection by a great artist., February 2, 2002

By 

R.D. Hight (Kelso, WA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: H. R. Giger's Retrospective: 1964-1984 (Paperback)

When I bought this book, I was expecting it to be full of Giger's "as seen on TV" biomechanical art. And yes, those black-and-gray conflations of living tissue, buildings, and machines are well-represented, and it's great stuff-- cables, bones, human forms or parts of human forms, chitin, metal. The liquid, glossy motifs Giger uses are much more effective on a well-printed page than on a CRT, and it seems like every time I look at them, there's another nuance or detail or set of teeth or something that I hadn't noticed.

But there's also a lot of stuff in here I hadn't seen before. The "Totems" toward the very end actually affected me more strongly than any of the classic biomechanisms.

If you know what you're getting into, this is a good way to get examples of several types of work Giger's done besides the Alien/Species style. (He does have some all-biomechanical books as well, if that's your sole interest.)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you ready for these nightmare visions...?, May 1, 2000

By 

yygsgsdrassil "yygsgsdrassil" (Crossroads America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: H. R. Giger's Retrospective: 1964-1984 (Paperback)

...H. R. Giger has been a fave of mine for years--even before "Alien" and "Species". I was silently pleased when some of his work was lent to medium other than the sci-fi and slick 'zines he was noted for doing--deb harry's solo project's album cover, for one. These are visions of biological organisms as mechanisms and of architecture as anatomy with, for instance, veins and sinews as electrical conduits and potable water lines and sewers as ligaments and ribs and tissue...living organisms have a mechanical metallic sheen, bridges and sewers and scaffolds have mouths and faces and deformed bodies that may be human or may not...they are sensuous at times, horrific at other times, but they all are bold and eye-catching modern art...it is almost like he has vision of a nightmare future...see how he's developed his style throughout the years in this great, great book...

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well put together collection of some of Giger's work., June 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: H. R. Giger's Retrospective: 1964-1984 (Paperback)

Again it has been done! As a true fan and admirer of Giger's work I can safely say that this is a good collection of some of Giger's best work. If you are looking for a lot more of Giger's Alien and Species work, you won't find it here though. I saw a lot of Gigers work in this book that I haven't seen in any of his other books!