H.R. GIGER N.Y. CITY [Signed]

Zurich, Switzerland: Ugly Publishing, 1981. Limited Edition #297/350. Hardcover. Folio, 46 pages. In Good plus condition. Spine is black with white lettering. Boards have mild scuffing along covers and moderate shelving wear to extremities: small chips along front head and fore edges, moderate bumping and chipping to fore corners, and a shallow 0.75 in. dent along rear head edge. Light waviness to text block, small dent along tail edge pp. 20-24. Signed flat and dated "81" by H.R. Giger on front free endpaper, limited edition #297/350. P.O. Consignment. Shelved in Rm. A. Swiss artist H.R. Giger got his start defying his father's admonition against the unprofitable art world, instead choosing to study architecture and design in Zürich. In 1969, one year before concluding his education, Giger found success printing and distributing his early posters with H.H. Kunz's printing company. From the beginning, Giger's strong stylistic presence impressed audiences with intricate, technical imagery. Influenced by the post-WWI anti-aesthetics of Dada which once flourished in Zürich, Giger developed a surrealistic style he coined "biomechanical," a confluence of human bodies and machines in encased, often erotic relationships. It is no surprise that he then found success with American authors and artists seeking to explore the sadomasochistic and phallogocentric within the genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. In 1980, Giger was awarded the Oscar for special effects on Ridley Scott's iconic 1979 Alien. He is credited largely with the design of the film and its titular villain. Shortly thereafter, in 1981, he released H.R. GIGER N.Y. CITY, a collection of paintings that captured the surreal concrete jungle of New York. These cityscapes blurred lines between the organic and the mechanical; they portrayed New York as simultaneously human and foreign, an ornate anthill where we have embedded ourselves like insectoids. Eccentrics quickly became obsessed, elevating Giger into the zeitgeist of the American alternative scene; he even curated a VIP room at Peter Gatien's infamous New York City nightclub, The Limelight. Scarcely found in hardcover format, this signed limited edition of H.R. Giger N.Y. City is a snapshot of an evolution in aesthetic history that remains foundational to contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. 1389909. Special Collections. (Inventory #: 1389909)