Leslie Barany was very helpful in putting my VAG page about H.R. Giger up, particularly after Giger died in 2014, he supplied me with a lot of inside information. I am now saddened to hear Leslie has passed away recently. RIP my friend.
He was a close friend of the late Swiss artist H.R. Giger and his American agent.
Source
Hommage to Leslie Barany
It is with great sadness we mark the passing of HR Giger’s long time friend and US Agent, Leslie Barany. Les was an important part of Giger’s world for many years and was present at every major Museum HR Giger event or anniversary that he could attend. He passed away in his home town of New York after a long illness on June 1, 2021. We miss him here already, but we will keep a place for him always at Museum HR Giger Bar, one of his favorite places in the world, and a place we spent much valued time with him.
In 1998, HR Giger said:
"One of my closest American friends is my agent Leslie Barany. Les is the kind of agent one dreams about: He knows how I function and understands my needs as an artist. Over the years, he has become a close and trusted confidant. He moves among many worlds and, as a result, has introduced my work, over the years, to a unique range of people. I can't imagine how it would be without him and our daily conversations.”
We feel the same way. Rest in Peace, Les, Gruyeres and Museum HR Giger miss you, and wish you could join us for a coffee one more time. Au revoir et bonne nuit.
Your friends at Museum HR Giger, Museum HR Giger Bar.
R.I.P.
Posted on the Facebook page of the H.R. Giger Museum
Some of the content of this web page I made was supplied by Leslie Barany, particularly after Giger passed away in 2014. Leslie supplied much inside material not previously published, which I was also able to put in my blog at that time:
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Swiss Artist HR Giger died yesterday at age 74
VISIONARY ART GALLERY - H.R. GIGER
Leslie Barany posted this on April 13th.
A notice that he passed away appeared on his profile on June 2nd.
RIP my friend.
Leslie Barany
Sorry I took the fucking thing!
VIDEO posted on Facebook
This was the post on his Facebook page announcing his passing:
Source
A message to all of you from Les.
Rest in Peace 1947-2021
The Giger Gang, HR Giger
"For those of you just learning of my untimely demise, it was not my intention to leave you in the dark. I thought I’d have time to call and explain my circumstances. My deepest apologies.
My sharp tongue has not always worked in my favor. I apologize to those who never understood the wisdom in my despotic nature. I’m told I have a soft side and that I’ve enriched many lives. I hope I’m not being lied to.
Now that I am waiting to die, my one true desire is to know I made a difference. I only wanted to make my parents proud, and to see talented people flourish.
To my family, I kept my life separate from yours out of respect for our beliefs. Forgive me for any wrongs or harsh words. Agi, I love you.
To Jonathan Mover, you’re my best friend. No explanation needed.
Kelly Brill, you’re one of a kind. I hope your face is one of the last I see.
Carmen, hug the kittens, kiss your mother, or maybe it’s the other way around. Save a place at the table for me. I love you.
Support Been Magazine, published by Andy Davies. His photography has brought me comfort over the years, especially during the pandemic.
I charge Christine Snider with telling my story, most of which she has recorded. I imagine this is what it’s like to have a daughter with a nurturing nature and a fierce determination to protect. Answer her call when it is your turn to be interviewed.
And lastly, dying is hard work, I don’t recommend it.
Sincerely,
Leslie Barany"
More to read to understand what brillant person Leslie Barany was,
his answer to an "aspiring artist":
I'm an aspiring artist and a big fan of Mr. Giger's work, and was wondering if you could possibly give me some advice? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated, particularly if you could guide me as to what courses you feel would be of most benefit to me.
Dear Aspiring Artist:
Here is my advice. Think of it as a five-year plan:
Take whatever courses you find the most interesting.
Study closely the work of the Old Masters.
Stop making art that originates only from your own imagination.
Stay with one technique until you perfect it.
On any given day, always be in the middle of reading a book. When you finish one, start the next. Fiction, nonfiction, biographies, autobiographies, history, science, psychology, or how to build a kite. Anything but go easy on the comic books.
Buy and read the first 6 pages of newspaper every day and also the editorial commentaries. Skip the entertainment section. Su Doku is fine. Do the crossword puzzle.
Fill up a sketchbook every month with pen or pencil drawings of the world around you, not from your imagination.
Buy a book on figure drawing. It's the only art book you will ever need.
Until you can draw an accurate portrait of someone, you don’t know how to draw.
Stay away from the airbrush. You'll never master it, hardly anyone ever has.
Visit every museum in your city. Often, until you have seen everything in it. Every kind of museum. Not only the art museums but, of course, those as well.
Forget about contemporary art by living artists, at least for the next few years.
Stay away from most art galleries. Go to art auctions. That's where the real action is.
Learn to play chess.
Take a business course.
Talk to you mother or father at least once a week.
Stop going to the movies until you have rented and seen every film on this list.
Best Movies of all TIME
Do not watch television unless it’s the news or documentaries.
Do not use an Ipod.
No video games, either.
Learn a foreign language.
Learn to cook.
Spend 8 hours in a hospital emergency room.
Save up money so you can travel to a foreign country within the next five years.
Do not litter.
Avoid politically correct people.
Vote in every election or never dare to utter a political opinion. You are not entitled to one.
Buy a digital camera and take photos every day.
If you see nothing interesting to photograph, you will never be a good artist. Keep only one photo of every ten you take. Delete the rest. It will force you to learn how to edit the garbage from your life, to make choices, to recognize what has real value and what is superficial.
Visit an old age home.
Listen to classical music and jazz. If you are unable to appreciate it at least as much as contemporary music, you lack the sensitivity to develop into an artist of any real depth.
Go to the ballet. Classical or Modern, it doesn't matter. It will teach you to appreciate physical grace and the relationship between sound and movement.
Wake up every morning no later than 8 AM, regardless of what time you went to sleep.
Learn to play a musical instrument.
Learn to swim.
Keep your word.
Never explain your art. People who ask you to do so are idiots.
Never explain yourself. Better yet, never do anything that will, later, require you to explain yourself or to say you're sorry.
Always use spell check.
Stop aspiring and start doing.
This will keep you very busy but it can't be helped.
In my opinion, this is how you might, possibly, have a shot at becoming a good artist.
Hope this helps,
Leslie Barany
re-posted on Facebook November 7th 2019 by Drew Doblinger
As a bonus feature for those who read through all this, I give you the ultimate movie experience about H.R. Giger - Leslie also appears in this movie:
this is the full length movie, 1:40 hrs!
◄ link to my blog about this movie
short clips and several previews can be seen on Vimeo
https://twitter.com/ArtOfTheMystic/status/1401132092130578437?s=20
- ArtOfTheMystic
Visit my website
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at the Fuchs Villa in Vienna
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MY INTRODUCTION - ABOUT MY WORK
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