Sunday, March 11, 2012

Art Universe Legend Jean "Moebius" Giraud Passes From This World ... onto what is next

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I worked with an inspiring artist named Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. An internationally renowned comics artist, and film designer, he had a visionary vision of the planet Earth. Born in Paris died in Paris, I want to honour his transition from this world to where ever is next. Jean Giraud is known widely as Moebius. Please go to his personal website for stunning insights into his artistic legacy, who shifted world universal views. In 1963, the Moebius pseudonym was chosen specifically as his 'artist's signature name" for his fantasy and science fiction work including the L’Incal, The Airtight Garage, and Arzach series as well as storyboards for films such as 'Les Maîtres du Temps' (in English released as 'Time Masters'). Moebius has since become the name by which he is best known internationally, as he has contributed production design for films such as 'Blade Runner', 'Heavy Metal', 'Tron', 'Alien', 'Willow', 'The Abyss', 'Little Nemo' 'The Fifth Element' etc...

IMDB (International Movie Data Base) page

Wikipedia biography
Cover art for the album "Nez Cassé" showing Giraud's use of oil paint in addition to the more common line drawings. Giraud changed the artistic style of the series dramatically several times.




Many artists from around the world have cited Giraud (Moebius) as having a major influence on their work.
The following quote's credits are cited here.

Hayao Miyazaki, manga author, Japanese anime filmmaker and long time friend of Giraud (named his daughter Nausicaä after the character in Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). Hayao Miyazaki describes how he first discovered and was introduced to Giraud's work:
"Through Arzach, which dates from 1975, I believe. I only read it in 1980, and it was a big shock. Not only for me. All manga authors were shaken by this work. Even today, I think it has an awesome sense of space. I directed 'Nausicaa' under Moebius's influence."

William Gibson, pioneering cyberpunk author, said of Giraud's work in 'The Long Tomorrow':
"So it's entirely fair to say, and I've said it before, that the way Neuromancer-the-novel "looks" was influenced in large part by some of the artwork I saw in Heavy Metal. I assume that this must also be true of John Carpenter's Escape from New York, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and all other artefacts of the style sometimes dubbed 'cyberpunk'. Those French guys, they got their end in early."


Frederico Fellini, Italian filmmaker, said:
"I consider him more important than Doré. He’s a unique talent endowed with an extraordinary visionary imagination that’s constantly renewed and never vulgar. Moebius disturbs and consoles. He has the ability to transport us into unknown worlds where we encounter unsettling characters. My admiration for him is total. I consider him a great artist, as great as Picasso and Matisse."