Demon Master - the little HR Giger Page

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GigerGIGER: People have always saidthat I look like these babies a littlebit.LPR: A self-portrait?GIGER: Probably. I don't knowwhy I did these. At the same timethere was a problem with oil andgas in 1973. Do you remember?LPR: Yes, the energy crisis.GIGER: So, you can see manyburners in my paintings. That's theonly thing I know and the otherthings must have some reasonbehind them. Also, the contraceptivesnow are very "in."LPR: Especially with all the"STOP AIDS!" posters I've seen inSwitzerland. You should do theseposters.... People might take morenotice what with your style ofpainting.GIGER: (laughs) Yes. Do youknow this poster I did they madeso much noise about in America?(Giger shows the Dead Kennedysposter that was banned in theStates. It is a veritable meat factoryof penises and vaginas. More disgustingthan erotic, the sexualimagery is very different from hisother works.)LPR: Have you done any researchin the supernatural as abasis for your work?GIGER: Not really, but sometimesunexplained things havehappened to me....LPR: Do you believe in it?GIGER: In a way, yes.LPR: Have you ever had a supernaturalexperience?GIGER: Yes. As I told you sometimesI could go out of my bodyand fly about 50 or 40 centimetersover the ground from my bed toanother place and my perspectivewas about that. I could see my feetin the foreground.LPR: This happened many times?GIGER: No, not many times.About eight times.LPR: Why do you consider yourwork "upbeat," especially withthis lurid obsession with death andthe dark side?GIGER: What is this word,"upbeat?"LPR: Uh, happy or positive. Doyou feel your work is that way?GIGER: No, I don't think so.Happy colors are mostly green,blue and red. My colors are moreakin to an old basement, like rottingpotatoes, or worms from thepotatoes. My paintings are insidepaintings, what I think inside.LPR: Do you feel your work ismore pessimistic, then?GIGER: Probably, yes. It dependson which level you are on. If youare on the ground, it could benegative. I think my work is positivebecause it's not a destroyedlandscape. The ladies are shownlike in a peep show; they are notso ugly, but shown in a nice way.LPR: How would you describesomething that is not positive?
GIGER: Boring things. Visions ofhell and Hieronymus Bosch are allpositive because something is happening.The terrible thing for meis if nothing happens; no movement.LPR: You mean like still-lifes?Have you ever tried to paintflowers or normal pictures likebowls of fruit?GIGER: Yes, I try.LPR: What do they look like?GIGER: Nice. I did some in colorsfor my mother.LPR: Since you've been painting,have you noticed any improvementsin the way your art isreceived?GIGER: I think so, yes. I can seethat because there are so manyAmericans who copy my work inthe film business.LPR: How do you feel aboutthat, especially when you don't getcompensated for it?GIGER: One way I'm happy thatpeople recognize what I do, and inanother way I'm not very happybecause nobody says that's myidea or my creation. If someoneadapts my stuff directly, if they sayI am influenced by Giger, it's okay.But, if they say nothing, then I amnot very happy.LPR: And the fact you get nomoney for it, does that make youangry?GIGER: There are a lot of Americanfilmmakers who copy mywork, and they send me a letterand say it is nice to have you inmy film (laughs). So, I can't sayanything. It's nice to be there. Youknow, sometimes people have thesame idea at the same time. Also,my stuff is not completely fresh. Ihave seen Gaudi. I have seenKubin, Dali....LPR: What are you working onnow besides "The Mirror?" Anypaintings or books?GIGER: I did goblins for a Japanesefilm. I made some drawings,two airbrush. I'm the only foreignperson working on the film. Myname H.R. they can't translate intoJapanese.LPR: At what age did you beginpainting?GIGER: About 18. I made somesurrealistic sketches or atomic cartoonsof how we'd look after nuclearwar. People with no arms andthey made jokes about this.LPR: Did they look anything likeyour paintings now?GIGER: I have a model for anew book that shows what I did in1962 and '63.LPR: How has your work changedover the years since you beganpainting?GIGER: It became, I don't know,more clear, perhaps. If you sawN.Y. City (produced in 1977), you'llsee how the style has changed.LPR: When will your new bookcome out?GIGER: I don't know. Probablyin about four or five months. InMay of '88, the same time as myshow in Berlin, I hope.
Page 1 and 2: Volume XVIII, Number 50FREE60,000 C
Page 3 and 4: the "right stuff" for Ridley Scott
Page 5 and 6: Giger sits beneath the triangular m
Page 7: giant murals, I work just freshwith

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