Saturday, March 16, 2013

John Diebel: Artist Statement



On Reconstructed Space

This body of work imagines alternate histories; worlds in which the idealism of such early 20th Century art movements as Suprematism, Constructivism, and De Stijl have been implemented as the complete cultural revolutions that their manifestoes demanded. What happens to revolutionary zeal and the fervent desire to forge a New Humanity over the course of decades and in the face of seemingly immutable human nature? The specter of the Soviet Union’s doomed experiment in compromised ideals helps to inform these dystopian visions. Here we find Imperial cities on the verge of decline, dominated by geometric edifices in primary colors, and over-flown by menacing architectonic drones. Worlds very different from those exhorted by artistic doctrine, but also not unlike our own world today.
General Statement
Through a technique of highly structured, accurately cut paper collage I seek to evoke architectural spaces which exert ideological power over their surrounding environments. Sometimes the ideological symbols are drawn from familiar past human history, other times from future or imagined histories. I have long been fascinated with representational architecture and the ends that it serves; particularly when those ends have been obscured by the passage of time.
“Paper architecture” and architectural modeling serve as guides to my technique. Some of the greatest artistry I’ve seen has been in the form of drawings and sculptures of un-built or un-buildable structures. My own frustrated inner architect is nominally appeased by the labor-intensive practice I have developed.  Following a free-ranging process of drawing and experimentation, the construction of each image is done in a methodical manner. Emphasis is put on accuracy of cutting and the construction of a smooth surface for each shape. The result is an optical illusion: a 2-dimensional image with a layered surface that projects out from the background through multiple layers of cardstock and paper. A convincing 3-dimensional space emerges from this illusion, even when a false axonometric perspective reminiscent of early video games is used.