H. R. Giger Bar

   I love H. R. Giger's work. It's everything I instinctively can't and don't want to understand as a human being: nightmarish, cold, mechanical, anatomical, reproductive, inscrutable, unscrupulous. Which is why I enjoy it so much; I love it because it comes from a place my mind daren't go by itself, and probably never would, if Giger hadn't come along and painted it. It expands my mind to new and creeptastic places and possibilities, and if you'll forgive the pun - completely alien deliberation. 

   But I wouldn't have trouble going for a drink at either of the two Giger theme bars that still exist in Switzerland. One lives in Giger's hometown of Chur, and the other in Château St. Germain, Gruyères. The futuristic decor of the Chur Giger Bar was originally intended for New York, although the NY bar fittings were moved back to Switzerland when its American host venue closed down; (another Giger Bar used to exist in Tokyo but no longer does).  Giger's distinctive biomechanical motifs have been incorporated into the furnishings of both bars, including some unused designs for the Harkonnen Chair originally intended for the movie Dune. Would love to get a closer look at them, since I also have a thing for both the Dune and the Alien movies. Makes you wonder what kind of movie Dune would have been, if Giger had continued to work on it...

 

   The Gruyères bar is called the ‘Museum H. R. Giger Bar’ and has the look of a crypt or catacombs about it, with spine-like embellishments on the archways, and pieces of Giger's artwork made into sculpture and placed like carvings onto the walls. 

 

   

   Next time I'm in Switzerland, huh? ;)

Images credited to: Pinksplash, Alejandro Pérez, tripadvisor.nl