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An isometric illustration of a grey, brutalist city layout with repetitive apartment blocks. Large red banners and portraits of a leader are positioned across the concrete buildings and green spaces.

John Diebel's stunning geometric collages ooze Bauhaus perfection

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Date
27 September 2012

Minneapolis resident John Diebel spent most of the 1980s living in and around Berlin. As anyone who’s ever visited the city will know, the experience of immersing yourself in one of Europe’s most unique cultures has something of a lasting effect. For John Berlin’s legacy was felt most profoundly in his artwork and the architectural representations the city’s streets inspired.

John’s geometric collages ooze Bauhaus perfection. Constructed from layers of carefully crafted vintage papers they represent an architectural ideal long since abandoned by Berlin’s inhabitants. The faceless tower blocks, empty plazas and wide streets are powerfully evocative of the former Eastern Bloc and the utilitarian ideals that governed the post-war era, compounded by the billboards of an unknown dictator foxing his gaze on the deserted streets.

An isometric illustration of a sterile, grey city with repetitive apartment blocks and wide empty streets. A few buildings are highlighted in bright yellow and green, and one red building features the word “KORSUM”.
Above

John Diebel: Zonal Border (Zonengrenze)

An illustration of a surreal city with pale green apartment blocks and geometric shapes. A black silhouette of a person uses a shovel to dig into a large, colourful cube.
Above

John Diebel: Construct

An illustration of a grey brutalist apartment block with yellow trim and pink accents. An orange car drives along a white road in the foreground, flanked by colourful stripes.
Above

John Diebel: New Border Crossing

An illustration of a surreal city with grey, rectangular buildings floating over a grid of 3D cubes. A red flag flies from a thin pole, and a red ribbon winds through the geometric landscape.
Above

John Diebel: Neue Siedlung (Fragment)

An illustration of a grey, brutalist cityscape under a pale blue sky. A blue building in the foreground features a yellow sign that reads “RISTORACZNI BAR”.
Above

John Diebel: Interhotel

An abstract illustration of interlocking geometric blocks in a 3D isometric perspective. The composition uses a palette of yellow, orange, grey, and blue against a white background.
Above

John Diebel: District Null

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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