Rigor & Curiosity

By Ivan Barnett

“Being Curious Is Essential to Having a Great Career,” Santa Fe Window.  Image Ivan Barnett

“Kids grow up with innate curiosity. It’s the hardwired instinct that permits us to walk, talk and survive long before we get to school.” — Seth Godin Seth’s Blog

Curiosity gets us moving. In studios, galleries, and museums, as well as life itself, it’s the spark that sends an artist down a new path, a curator into an unfamiliar archive, a director toward a riskier exhibition. But curiosity alone doesn’t ship the painting, open the show, or change a community. That second engine is rigor: the habit of showing up, testing, documenting, and improving.

Seth Godin’s reminder is timely for the arts. His short essay on Rigor and curiosity reframes the false choice between wonder and discipline. We don’t have to pick one. The opportunity, especially in our field, is to braid them. Seth’s Blog

For Artists: Guard the Spark, Build Your Scaffold

Curiosity in the studio is easy to recognize: a sudden material experiment, an unexpected color harmony, the form that “asks” to be turned upside down. Rigor is what makes that discovery repeatable without sacrificing character.

• Name the question. Each body of work begins with a live question (“What if I treat shadow as structure?”).
• Create small experiments. Three studies > one masterful work.
• Capture learning. One notebook page per session: what you tried, what you’ll try next.
• Decide when to stop. (Hardest of all.) Rigor isn’t endless refinement—it’s finishing with the sureness that you feel in your gut.

Godin’s older post, The rigor imperative, says it plainly: “Do the math, do the reading, do the budget. Do it right.” Bring that same sobriety to materials, schedules, pricing, and editioning. Your future self—and your gallerist—will thank you. Seth’s Blog

“Look Up for Options,” Historic Window, Santa Fe.  By Ivan Barnett

For Galleries: Program with Curiosity, Operate with Rigor

Curiosity fuels inventive programming: invite contrarian pairings, commission new work, ask “Who’s not in the room?” Rigor is the discipline that turns vision into outcomes.

• Curatorial curiosity: Create “first-time” juxtapositions, craft with contemporary painting, sound with sculpture, then capture what visitors notice first and where they linger.
• Sales rigor: Track inquiry → hold → install → close. Review weekly. Adjust wall texts, lighting, and even pricing if necessary.  .
• Collector development: Curiosity asks, “What does this patron care about now?” Rigor can often block follow-ups and conservation check-ins.

Rigor doesn’t dull the edge; it preserves it by building systems that keep you daring yet still focused.

For Museums: Research the Audience, Prototype the Invitation

Museums are built for rigor—collections management, conservation, peer review. The growth opportunity is to match that rigor with everyday curiosity:

• Prototype exhibits: Pilot micro-curatorial staging or pop-up interpretive labels to test a thesis before making your final decisions.
• Alternative tours: Invite docents to A/B one new storytelling.
• Feedback with experience: Replace the suggestion  box with a single, well-framed question: “What surprised you here?”

The point isn’t to chase novelty; it’s to create a consistent practice of learning, then codify what you learn.

“Fear Of Failure Is Our Worst Enemy,” Santa Fe Door.  Image Ivan Barnett

“Rigor x Curiosity” Exercises that You Can Rely On

Artists

• Two-stack rule: Start every session with two 30-minute sprints of exploration (curiosity), then one 30-minute pass of editing and decisions (rigor).
• The stop test: Photograph a piece at from three different points of view. Ask a trusted peer which version breathes and then make your final decision.

Galleries

• Threshold study: For a single weekend, station a staff person at your gallery door to note what visitors respond to first.
• Follow-up standard: Within 24 hours, one handwritten note or personalized phone call to every serious inquiry.

Museums

• Title lab: Test two exhibition titles with members; measure RSVPs and web clicks.
• Learning loop: Every gallery talk ends with, “What didn’t we get right?” Log, share, iterate.

Why This Matters Now

Funding resources are tighter, attention is fragmented, and audiences are more diverse and more discerning than ever. Curiosity ensures we keep asking better questions about our work ensuring we keep our promises: to artists, to visitors, to communities, to donors.

Godin’s line about the blend is the lever: curious people may need some rigor, and rigorous people always need more curiosity. It’s a mutual enhancement: disciplined creatives who remain open, and organized institutions that never stop learning. Seth’s Blog

“Seeing Clearly Takes Much Practice,” Santa Fe Window, No 1.  Image Ivan Barnett

Building a Culture That Can Do Both

• Name the defaults. Are you a curiosity-first studio that rarely ships? Or a rigor-first organization that hasn’t asked a new question in a year?
• Codify even small movements. Allocate time and budget for prototypes (studio studies, pop-up exhibits, pilot programs).
• Share what you have learned. One-page debriefs—what changed a decision?—become your internal wisdom library.
• Reward the behavior. Celebrate the team that tested and the team that delivered—and the rare team that did both.

The arts don’t need more noise; they need more focus and disciplined practice. Curiosity to find the thread. Rigor to weave it into something an audience can enter, explore, and remember.

Ready to practice, ship, and place stronger work?

If you’re an artist who needs cadence and clarity, a gallery that wants braver programming without the chaos, or a museum ready to prototype and learn faster, Serious Play can help. Reply to this note or visit serious-play.co to schedule a short intro call. We’ll ask three questions: What decision do you need this to change? What’s the smallest test? How will we know it worked?

“If you are lucky enough to find a curious person, perhaps they could benefit from a little rigor.” — Seth Godin Seth’s Blog

© 2025