Li Tobler
Encyclopedia
Li Tobler was a Swiss
stage actress
. She is best known as model
to several of H. R. Giger
's works (including his famous Li paintings), as well as for being his life partner
up until her suicide
in 1975.
in 1948. In 1966, she met surrealist
artist
H. R. Giger
while she was studying acting in K. Rellstab's drama studio in Zürich
. According to Giger, she had "an enormous vitality and a great appetite for life" and wished her life to be "short and intense". Tobler was living in a very small and unclean apartment with her then boyfriend, actor Paul Weibel, a friend of Giger. Giger, having only graduated from the School of Arts and working as a designer, made the proposal to move in with them, which they promptly accepted. Tobler, Giger and Weibel, in terrible economic condition, shared the apartment in the following months, despite its numerous inconveniences. After Weibel left abroad for professional reasons, the friendship between Tobler and Giger gradually developed into a romance. In 1967, the couple left the building and moved to the attic of a condemned building nearby. After the building was torn down in 1968, they moved to another condemned house.
Meanwhile, following her graduation from K. Rellstab's drama school, Tobler started working in the Neumarkt. In 1969, she was chosen by the Stadtheater theatre of St. Gallen
, a city almost 50 kilometres of distance from Zürich. Tobler and Giger were capable of meeting only during weekends during this period. Tobler remained a member of the Stadtheater stage for two seasons and in 1970 she returned to Zürich. Due to her ongoing financial problems, she was obliged to move in to a friend of hers, though Giger was also living in a flat nearby. However, a few months later, on April, a small inheritance left to Giger by an uncle of his allowed the couple to buy a house in the suburbs (specifically, in Oesterlich) and settle together again. Tobler went on to act for the Kellertheater theatre in the Canton of Baden
.
The relationship of the couple was reportedly tumultuous, and involved promiscuity from both partners, as well as frequent use of drugs. On one occasion, Tobler failed to appear at the house and Giger, on the brink of terror, started frantically looking for her in highways. Eventually, he received a phone call by Tobler, three days later, who informed him that she had to make a trip of extreme urgency (probably with another boyfriend of hers, as remarked by Giger years later). According to the painter, "as of that moment she did, more or less, what she wanted". Giger, who was always madly in love with her, was unable to help Tobler in her personal agonies and lack of control in her life, given his own psychological problems and agony over his artwork. Giger later stated that he was cheered simply by the fact that Li had found another lover, as that would make her happy and also improve Giger and Li's life together. It has been acknowledged, however, that Giger also used to see other women, much as Li Tobler had parallel affairs during those years.
. Murer filmed a TV
documentary
, entitled Passagen (1972), about Giger's work. The documentary also featured interviews by both Giger and Tobler. In the 1972-1973 season, Tobler gained a part in the play My woman, my leader, and had to travel all around Switzerland. Physically and mentally exhausted after 130 performances of the play, weary after the hectic schedule that required extensive tour around the country and confused by her promiscuous erotic life, Tobler decided to take a leave of absence from the acting profession, as well as from her relationship with Giger. In 1974, she opted for leaving him and moving to San Francisco with her new American boyfriend. However, 30 days later, she returned to Zürich, claiming to be disappointed over the United States
(as well as incapable of adapting to American lifestyle, according to Giger) and resuming her relationship with the painter.
Following this incident, Tobler started becoming heavily depressed. In sharp contrast to Giger, who was undergoing one of his most energetic artistic periods, Tobler was gradually dissolving in depression and apathy. Giger's energy only seemed to depress her more. She started contemplating suicide
. One of her friends, Jörg Stummer, advised her to open her own gallery, as a means of becoming active again. Her gallery presented several modern artists, including works by Manon, Walter Pfeiffer and Jürgen Klauke. At her last exhibition, entitled Schuhwerke (German for Shoe Works), the guests were invited to appear wearing bizarre shoe creations. Giger filmed the guests while wearing a pair of "shoes" hollowed out of fresh loaves of bread. Despite Tobler's initial enthusiasm with her new project, after a short period of creative stir, she fell into a lethargic state and committed suicide at the age of 27, on Whit Monday
1975.
. The happening functioned simultaneously as the inauguration of the club and a memorial
for Tobler. The happening included the worshipping of the Four Elements and was claimed as being close to Satanist
and Lovecraftian
aesthetics.
"Li is the prototype for the many ethereal women in his paintings who peer forth from the torment of snakes, needles and stifling bone prisons - to a world beyond. Giger painted Li's body several times with an airbrush and there are several photographs of her posing naked - like a woman of mystery struggling to emerge from the nightmare that has possessed her soul". Drury concludes her article by remarking: "It may be too simplistic to say that Li haunts Giger still, for his life is full of beautiful and exotic women who are fascinated by his art and by his bohemian lifestyle. But there is no doubting that the simultaneous agony and joy of life with Li Tobler established the dynamic of fear and transcendence which is present in many of his paintings".
Many of the female faces that can be seen in Giger's early work are based on Li's face. Arguably the most famous paintings depicting Li (and the only ones doing so explicitly) are two eponymous paintings, that is, Li I and Li II (both 1974), two of Giger's most well-known and recognizable works. Allegedly, Li was shocked when she first saw the painting (Li I) that was supposed to represent her and proceeded to break the frame and tear its fabric. Giger was able to reconstruct the torn painting by use of pins.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
stage actress
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. She is best known as model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
to several of H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.-Early life:...
's works (including his famous Li paintings), as well as for being his life partner
Life partner
A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
up until her suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1975.
Acting and early years with Giger: 1966-1971
Not much is known of Li Tobler's early life. She was born in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1948. In 1966, she met surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.-Early life:...
while she was studying acting in K. Rellstab's drama studio in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. According to Giger, she had "an enormous vitality and a great appetite for life" and wished her life to be "short and intense". Tobler was living in a very small and unclean apartment with her then boyfriend, actor Paul Weibel, a friend of Giger. Giger, having only graduated from the School of Arts and working as a designer, made the proposal to move in with them, which they promptly accepted. Tobler, Giger and Weibel, in terrible economic condition, shared the apartment in the following months, despite its numerous inconveniences. After Weibel left abroad for professional reasons, the friendship between Tobler and Giger gradually developed into a romance. In 1967, the couple left the building and moved to the attic of a condemned building nearby. After the building was torn down in 1968, they moved to another condemned house.
Meanwhile, following her graduation from K. Rellstab's drama school, Tobler started working in the Neumarkt. In 1969, she was chosen by the Stadtheater theatre of St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
, a city almost 50 kilometres of distance from Zürich. Tobler and Giger were capable of meeting only during weekends during this period. Tobler remained a member of the Stadtheater stage for two seasons and in 1970 she returned to Zürich. Due to her ongoing financial problems, she was obliged to move in to a friend of hers, though Giger was also living in a flat nearby. However, a few months later, on April, a small inheritance left to Giger by an uncle of his allowed the couple to buy a house in the suburbs (specifically, in Oesterlich) and settle together again. Tobler went on to act for the Kellertheater theatre in the Canton of Baden
Canton of Baden
The Canton of Baden was a canton of the Helvetic Republic . Its capital was the town of Baden....
.
The relationship of the couple was reportedly tumultuous, and involved promiscuity from both partners, as well as frequent use of drugs. On one occasion, Tobler failed to appear at the house and Giger, on the brink of terror, started frantically looking for her in highways. Eventually, he received a phone call by Tobler, three days later, who informed him that she had to make a trip of extreme urgency (probably with another boyfriend of hers, as remarked by Giger years later). According to the painter, "as of that moment she did, more or less, what she wanted". Giger, who was always madly in love with her, was unable to help Tobler in her personal agonies and lack of control in her life, given his own psychological problems and agony over his artwork. Giger later stated that he was cheered simply by the fact that Li had found another lover, as that would make her happy and also improve Giger and Li's life together. It has been acknowledged, however, that Giger also used to see other women, much as Li Tobler had parallel affairs during those years.
Depression and suicide: 1971-1975
In 1971, Giger and Tobler visited director Fredi M. Murer in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Murer filmed a TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, entitled Passagen (1972), about Giger's work. The documentary also featured interviews by both Giger and Tobler. In the 1972-1973 season, Tobler gained a part in the play My woman, my leader, and had to travel all around Switzerland. Physically and mentally exhausted after 130 performances of the play, weary after the hectic schedule that required extensive tour around the country and confused by her promiscuous erotic life, Tobler decided to take a leave of absence from the acting profession, as well as from her relationship with Giger. In 1974, she opted for leaving him and moving to San Francisco with her new American boyfriend. However, 30 days later, she returned to Zürich, claiming to be disappointed over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(as well as incapable of adapting to American lifestyle, according to Giger) and resuming her relationship with the painter.
Following this incident, Tobler started becoming heavily depressed. In sharp contrast to Giger, who was undergoing one of his most energetic artistic periods, Tobler was gradually dissolving in depression and apathy. Giger's energy only seemed to depress her more. She started contemplating suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. One of her friends, Jörg Stummer, advised her to open her own gallery, as a means of becoming active again. Her gallery presented several modern artists, including works by Manon, Walter Pfeiffer and Jürgen Klauke. At her last exhibition, entitled Schuhwerke (German for Shoe Works), the guests were invited to appear wearing bizarre shoe creations. Giger filmed the guests while wearing a pair of "shoes" hollowed out of fresh loaves of bread. Despite Tobler's initial enthusiasm with her new project, after a short period of creative stir, she fell into a lethargic state and committed suicide at the age of 27, on Whit Monday
Whit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
1975.
Bizarre homage
Giger was accused by some people as negatively influencing Tobler (who was regularly dealing with depression) with the bleakness and morbidity of his work. Nevertheless, Giger was devastated by Tobler's death and felt an emptiness in his life, which was reflected by the even darker tone his work assumed from that point onwards. In 1976, the event known as "The Second Celebration of the Four" was held, with Giger and his friends attending, in Ueli Steinle's Ugly Club in RichterswilRichterswil
Richterswil is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Richterswil is first mentioned in 1265 as Richtliswile.During the 17th Century, a series of peasant revolts broke out across Switzerland...
. The happening functioned simultaneously as the inauguration of the club and a memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
for Tobler. The happening included the worshipping of the Four Elements and was claimed as being close to Satanist
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
and Lovecraftian
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
aesthetics.
Tobler as a symbol in Giger's work
Several articles have been written on Tobler's function as a symbol and reflection in most of Giger's early professional works. Nevill Drury, who interviewed Giger in 1985 (Shadowzone # 5), observes the following:"Li is the prototype for the many ethereal women in his paintings who peer forth from the torment of snakes, needles and stifling bone prisons - to a world beyond. Giger painted Li's body several times with an airbrush and there are several photographs of her posing naked - like a woman of mystery struggling to emerge from the nightmare that has possessed her soul". Drury concludes her article by remarking: "It may be too simplistic to say that Li haunts Giger still, for his life is full of beautiful and exotic women who are fascinated by his art and by his bohemian lifestyle. But there is no doubting that the simultaneous agony and joy of life with Li Tobler established the dynamic of fear and transcendence which is present in many of his paintings".
Many of the female faces that can be seen in Giger's early work are based on Li's face. Arguably the most famous paintings depicting Li (and the only ones doing so explicitly) are two eponymous paintings, that is, Li I and Li II (both 1974), two of Giger's most well-known and recognizable works. Allegedly, Li was shocked when she first saw the painting (Li I) that was supposed to represent her and proceeded to break the frame and tear its fabric. Giger was able to reconstruct the torn painting by use of pins.