Resurrection of Christ (1430) by Master Francke

Prometheus Creature Designs

leading from
Prometheus
 


a) See: The Hammerpede
a.1) introducing the Hammerpede  a.2) The facehugger centipede


 

 
c) See: Fifield Monster
c.1)The Fifield Monster, c.2) Ivan Manzella's Fifield Monster,  
c.3) H. R. Giger's Fifield Monster, c.4) Alternate Fifield mutant, 
c.5) The final mutant Fifield, 

 
 d) See: The Trilobyte
d.i) Chihuly - Chihulien - Chihulybite
d.ii)  Trog / Trilobyte 
 
 


 
e) see: The Ultramorph
e.i) Carlos Huante's Ultramorph
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
g) See: The Deacon
 

 

Alien Covenant Poster references
Gustave Doré's Fall of the Rebel Angels
for Paradise Lost?

leading from

Gustave Doré's Fall of the Rebel Angels for
Paradise Lost (1886)  and Alien Covenant poster



a) The cluster of human bodies in trouble, seemingly caught in the air while in the darkness, with a light coming from above makes the composition of the poster similar to Gustave Doré's Fall of the Rebel Angels from Paradise Lost which appears to be a book that Ridley Scott was using as a form of subtext in Prometheus and Alien Covenant as its sequel.

Gustave Doré's Fall of the Rebel Angels from Paradise Lost (1886)

b) I'm not really looking at similarity in terms of specific bodies or gestures though, but there's a general similarity to observe and perhaps the bodies and wings in the bottom right transform into the visible arms in the Alien Covenant poster.  Perhaps the general slant of bodies and wings in Dore's work going down towards the centre across the image has been a source of reference in this way.

Alien Covenant poster
c) As we know, Ridley even considered calling the film Prometheus: Paradise Lost in its earlier stages but soon found himself naming it Alien: Covenant.

Alien: Covenant poster

leading from



a) Introducing the new poster
On 23rd March 2017, I suddenly read at AVPGalaxy about the new Alien Covenant poster. The Alien Covenant Poster that appears to be a digital sculpture almost with an alien beast at the upper centre, a background with organic ribbing, other alien creatures and humanoids that might be Engineers becoming facehugged. The composition immediately rings a bell because of a central row of heads and how this might tie in with a certain painting by HR Giger. The arms of the humanoids in a state of panic seemed also suggestive of the same painting, and then I realised it was also suggestive of another painting that I worked out that Giger had referenced in his own painting.

b) See: Breaking down the comparisons between the new Alien Covenant poster and Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312) 

http://alienexplorations.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/alien-covenant-poster-references-gigers.html

c) See: Alien Covenant Poster references Ernst Fuchs Triumph of the Unicorn by way of Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312)

http://alienexplorations.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/alien-covenant-poster-references-ernst.html


d) See: Referencing Gustave Doré's Fall of the Rebel Angels from Paradise Lost?

http://alienexplorations.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/alien-covenant-poster-references.html


Alien Covenant Poster references
Ernst Fuchs Triumph of the Unicorn
by way of Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312)



 leading from
&




Alien Covenant Poster


a) In September of 2016, I had decided that Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312) referenced the upper half of Ernst Fuchs' Triumph of the Unicorn (1952) See: Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312) references Ernst Fuchs' Triumph of the Unicorn?


Upper half of the "Triumph Of The Unicorn" by Ernst Fuchs (1952)
b) Similarities
I had decided on the day that the Alien Covenant poster came out that it referenced Giger's painting Biomechanical Landscape (work 312) when noticing a vague similarity in the layout and some of the structures.

Then I looked back at my realisations about how Giger's painting referenced Ernst Fuchs' Triumph of the Sphinx and then realised that the poster artist may have found out about the Fuchs painting and decided to reference some details.

Perhaps that the artist who made the poster read my blog or something that I posted on Facebook or Twitter, if not was informed by someone who was a member of Giger's personal circle of friends who somehow found out about the connection or was there was some other way.
But still the fact that the Giger painting and this specific Fuchs painting has been my very isolated theory, and then one might push forwards also with the argument that these things are bound to show up in a number of paintings and it's slightly coincidental, while the connection between the Giger painting and Fuchs piece of artwork is due to Giger's well known appreciation of Fuchs and the fact that the structure of the painting had sunk into him and he found another way to express it.


Compare the arms and hands
c) Hand gestures and arm formations
The Alien Covenant poster has the various humanoid arms stretched across it, slightly like the Giger painting, held out as if they're loosely interacting., but much more human than that. 

Going back to the Fuchs painting, there are the humanoid limbs in forms much more similar to the Alien Covenant poster

Perhaps there are a good number of paintings where the figures are holding their arms out to each other, an arm is an arm and when people are seeing with arms reaching out in crowds, there might form aesthetically or symbolically pleasing patterns in people's artwork, but connecting the Giger and the Fuchs painting makes the connection a bit more specific.

Human body on round platform transforms into Alien Queen crest with alien




d) Biomechanoid forms
What we also have is a humanoid form with his arms raised at the elbow, at the top of the painting that seemed to be reflect the shape of the alien queen head crest like formation at the top of the painting and the podium that he's perhaps sitting on becomes the alien head. 

It has it's place in Giger's painting similar enough in the way I compared that to the Alien Covenant poster but the way it the film poster connects with Fuchs seems to be slightly more specific and its as if the artists has taken elements from the two paintings in a way that Giger would do when looking for ideas by comparing paintings with a connection, perhaps one referenced the other and so the next artist might combine the two.

The bottom of the curved floating wall behind the top humanoid form, has ribbing beneath. 

At a glance, in the low resolution image, the underside resembled floating ribbons that looks roughly like tapes of film either side of the human body, comes through as a tentacle in Giger's painting and which turns into an arm of the main central alien beast in the poster, 

Meanwhile the bottom of the wall becomes  transformed into biomechanic patterns in the poster behind the main central alien.

 Ernst Fuchs' Triumph of the Unicorn. (etching) (1952)


Alien Covenant Poster references
Giger's Biomechanical Landscape (work 312)?


leading from






Area showing first head at the bottom and its equivalent in the poster
a) First head at the bottom of the painting and side apparatus transform into the small alien at the bottom and the humanoid with a facehugger on his face, with an arm reaching out

Area showing second head up and its equivalent in the poster

b) The second head up with downward curving ribbing transforms into a humanoids head with tentacles wrapped around it. To the left of that in Giger's painting, there's something that might be a bulbous joint shape that's potentially another head, and in the most roughest way possible, one might consider the alien head seen front the front that appears in the upper left might be a rough translation of that form, in terms of putting a shape that has already been designed.




c) The third head up in Giger's painting in comparison to the main Alien in the poster. 

This appears to have been generally turned into the space under the arm of the main alien creature in the picture, the tentacle to the left, turned into an arm and this piece of apparatus stretched across has been turned into the head of the alien. But the way it has been transformed doesn't bear much relation to Giger's painting.


Area showing fourth head up and its equivalent in the poster

d) Where the fourth head up should have been would be perhaps one of the indentations in the Alien Queen crest like formation. 

So where there's a downward indentation above the middle set of ribs in the snippet from Giger's painting, it would be as if this has been pulled down further and turned into the bone plate that roughly resembles and alien queen's head crest. 

e) See also Alien Covenant poster references Ernst Fuchs' Triumph Of The Unicorn via Giger's Landscape Biomechanical Landscape (work 312)?


http://alienexplorations.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/alien-covenant-poster-references-ernst.html


HR Giger's Alien Life Cycle Hieroglyphs according to Christopher Robinson ( as published in L'art et la science dans Alien)


 

 
 
[384.jpg]
Original life cyle tableau, 1978

 

a) Appearance of the hieroglyphs

Christopher Robinson noticed that HR Giger did not include any altar in his pyramid or temple projects for the Alien movie, which he found curious, since his large-scale series of paintings such as The Spell and Passage Temples depicted chapels and shrines furnished with alters, lecterns and cathedra.

But then here Giger did however create a painting called Hieroglyphics, that appeared to Robinson be inspired by a cartouche or a stele from Ancient Egypt, which in a stylized way represented the reproduction cycle of the alien life form

b) Life cycle representations

Exploring the painting he decided that the triangle evokesd a pyramid and it was divided into three levels. 

On the top level we see a facehugger in an egg. 

The next level shows a helmeted astronaut standing on the left side of an egg, puts his hand on top of the it releasing the facehugger. 

On the right side of the egg , the astronaut is lying with the face hugger parasite covering his face

On the lower level, the alien larval form (which was known in the Alien production as the Chest Burster) comes out of the astronauts chest.

c) Figure stretching across the painting

He would noticed that the elongated biomechanical feminine form stretched across the top of the painting touching the bottom on both sides, formed an upside down U enclosing the triangle form like a bell.

With its transparent cranial protruberance extending from the back of the head to the base of the backbone, he decided that the figure represented the adult alien

d) Background text

On the horizontal lines located on either side of the pyramid, in the interstices between its slopes and the body of the Alien, are hieroglyphics that he decided resembled pieces of intestines or worms. 

e) Reasons for its removal

His knowledge about why it was not used in the Alien film extended to the idea that producer Walter Hill removed the temple that O'Bannon wanted, to simplify the narrative and create more tension


  1. Giger n'a inclus aucun autel dans ses projets de pyramide ou de temple, ce qui est curieux, puisque ses séries de peintures à grande échelle (The Spell et Passagen-Tempel) représentent des chapelles ou des sanctuaires meublés d'autels, de lutrins et de cathèdres. Il a toutefois peint un tableau intitulé Hieroglyphics (Hiéroglyphiques, 1978), inspiré d'un cartouche ou d'une stèle de l'Égypte ancienne, qui représente de manière stylisée le cycle de reproduction de l'Alien. Un triangle, qui évoque une pyramide, est divisé en trois niveaux. En lisant de haut en bas et de gauche à droite, nous voyons au premier niveau un facehugger dans un oeuf. Au niveau suivant, un astronaute coiffé d'un casque pose la main sur le dessus de l'oeuf, libérant ainsi le facehugger. De l'autre côté de l'oeuf, l'astronaute est allongé avec le parasite couvrant son visage. Au niveau inférieur, nous voyons la larve de l'Alien qui sort de la poitrine de l'astronaute (chestburster). Formant un U à l'envers, un corps mince et allongé enferme la pyramide à la manière d'une cloche. Avec son excroissance crânienne transparente qui s'étend de l'arrière de la tête à la base de l'épine dorsale, cette figure représente l'Alien adulte. Sur les lignes horizontales situées de part et d'autre de la pyramide, dans les interstices situés entre ses pentes et le corps de l'Alien, se trouvent des hiéroglyphes ressemblant à des bouts d'intestins ou à des vers. Ridley Scott a repris le tableau dans Prometheus pour orner l'un des murs de la chambre où les cylindres de boue noire sont conservés, et il s'est inspiré de ces formes tubulaires pour créer les graphies de l'écriture des Ingénieurs. (Christopher Robinson ( in "Comme un tableau de HR Giger" published in L'art et la science dans Alien, 2019)) (Google translation: Giger did not include any altar in his pyramid or temple projects, which is curious, since his large-scale series of paintings (The Spell and Passage-Temple) depict chapels or shrines furnished with altars, lecterns. and cathedra.  He did, however, paint a painting called Hieroglyphics (Hieroglyphics, 1978), inspired by a cartouche or a stele from ancient Egypt, which in a stylized way represents the cycle of reproduction of the Alien. A triangle, which evokes a pyramid, is divided into three levels. Reading from top to bottom and left to right we see on the first level a facehugger in an egg. On the next level, a helmeted astronaut puts his hand on top of the egg, releasing the facehugger. On the other side of the egg, the astronaut is lying with the parasite covering his face. On the lower level, we see the Alien larva coming out of the astronaut's chest (chestburster). Forming an upside down U, a slender, elongated body encloses the pyramid like a bell. With its transparent cranial protuberance extending from the back of the head to the base of the backbone, this figure represents the adult Alien. On the horizontal lines located on either side of the pyramid, in the interstices between its slopes and the body of the Alien, are hieroglyphics resembling pieces of intestines or worms. )
  2. Hieroglyphics n'a pas été utilisé dans le premier film de la saga Alien, en partie car le producteur Walter Hill a supprimé le temple voulu par O'Bannon pour simplifier le récit et créer plus de tension. (Christopher Robinson  Christopher Robinson (in "Comme un tableau de HR Giger" published in L'art et la science dans Alien, 2019)
    (Google translation: Hieroglyphics was not used in the first film in the Allen saga, in part because producer Walter Hill removed the temple that O'Bannon wanted to simplify the narrative and create more tension.)


Alien Life Cycle Tableau, 2nd stage (1978) by HR Giger


Prometheus: The Fifield Monster

leading from
Prometheus: Fifield Monster

a) The idea was that the black slime emitted from the Ampules while in the pyramid overnight with Millburn, Fifield (Sean Harris) transforms into a creature that was jokingly referred to as 'Babyhead" by the crew.
b) All they ideas that they did with their designs, they tried to anchor down with real world references and so they could have the idea that it wasn't such a fantastical thing that they were doing with their Fifield design because they were after realism.. Neil Scanlan would compare Fifield's deformities to the real life condition of Elephantiasis, which is a swelling of body parts due to tropical worm infection, usually the limbs, and the limbs appear large and puffy or even elephant like and this could also happen to the face..

Facial Elephantiasis

Facial Elephantiasis

c) However over Ivan Manzella's desk was a picture of the Joseph Merrick also known as the "Elephant Man" who was thought to have had Proteus syndrome.

the photo of Joseph Merrick also known as 
"The Elephant Man as seen in the above image

d) However the final Fifield looks more like something from a Ralph Steadman caricature for Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas

The final mutant Fifield
(Prometheus: The art of the film, p136)


Ralph Steadman's illustration for the Lizard Lounge from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

  1. "Infected by black slime emitted from the Ampules while in the Pyramid overnight with Millburn, Fifield (Sean Harris) transforms into a creature that was jokingly referred to as "Babyhead" by the crew. "Fifield was considered to be the mid-point between the Hammerpede and the Deacon, "reveals Neal Scanlan of its positioning in the genetic cycle Creature designer Carlos Huante worked on the initial designs for the Fifield monster, which was originally more alien than human before the mutated head and body were refined into something more recognisably Harris, albeit a twisted version of the actor." (Prometheus: The art of the film, p134)
  2. "Everything we've done on the film has a real world reference, "notes Scanlan, "and when you do your research, it's so sad because Fifield isn't really that much of a fantastical creature. These things happen in real life, like Elephantiasis." (Prometheus: The art of the film, p134)


Prometheus creature by Neville Page
Prometheus creature by Neville Page
Initial drawing of Fifield monster perhaps in earlier stage of transformation 
by Carlos Huante (Prometheus: The Art of the Film, p134)
Initial drawing of Fifield monster perhaps in  earlier stage of transformation 
by Carlos Huante (Prometheus: The Art of the Film, p134)

Alien: Comparison to Manhunter 'Stone of Vengeance" by Jack Kirby

and 
 
 
 
 
 
a) Page one of the story. 

a.i) Manhunter 'Stone of Vengeance" by Jack Kirby

Originally printed in Adventure comics #77 (1938))

Later reprinted in The New Gods #8 p37 (1971) 

This page becomes the idea of a temple where the obsession starts and also an inspiration for the famous Alien poster 

See: Alien: Mystery of the poster in relation to Jack Kirby's Manhunter "The Stone of Vengeance"

 

 
 
 
 
a.ii) The Ridleygram of the Space Jockey seen from behind looks to me as if it's partly draws from Kirby's illustraton of the lower half of the form of the idol with the gemstone becoming the square space in the bac of the seat


 
 
 
b) Page two. 
 
The killer obsession starts to get out of control when the man with the green turban kills everyone, gets hold of the jewel and takes it to America on a boat. He becomes the Broussard /Kane figure.
 
 

 
 
 
c) Page three
 
c.i) As the man with the green turban hands over the jewel to dealers, they shoot him. Here is falling off the boat and this might as well be in a chestbursting pose at the top of the page. It is the Rajah character who wants the jewel who in this story becomes our Alien beast
 
 
 
 
 
c.ii) Man shot falling off the side of the road

 
 
 
 
c.iii) Ridleygram of Kane killed form chestbursting looking somewhat similar to the victim above
 

 
 
 
d) Page four. 
 
The shoe shine boy gets caught up in the trail of death when the jewel is accidently dropped in his shoe shine box.
 
 
 
e) Page five. 
 
The superhero Manhunter also gets caught up in this trail of death
 
 




f) Page six. 
 
Here the boy encounters Rajah and is knocked out. In the way that the alien beast takes its victims to its nest for cocooning, Rajah takes the boy to his hideout.



 
 

g) Page seven. 

Rajah also knocks Manhunter out and takes him away to the hideout. 

This becomes the idea of the alien beast taking a victim to its nest

 
 
 
 
 
g.i)  The character Rajah abducting the shoeshine boy and hitting Manhunter in the face

 
 
 
 
g.ii) Ridleygram of the character Brett being killed and taken by the Alien beast in the claw room looking similar to Kirby's illustration of Rajah abducting the shoeshine boy
 

 
 
 
g.iii) Alien beast running down the Nostromo corridor looking similar to Kirby's illustration of Rajah abducting the shoeshine boy
 

 


h) Page eight. 
 
The two prisoners are trying to escape as the hideout burns away but they escape.. 
 
This would become perhaps the scene where the Robey/Ripley character set fire to the cocooned victims putting the living one out of his misery


 
 
 
i) Page nine. 
 
The end fight. 
 
So here again, the alien beast would become a reflection of the extremes of humanity's greed and obsession over jewels.