Museletter

By Ivan Barnett Ivan’s abode, front door on Brisa.  Image Ivan Barnett. “A house is much more than a mere shelter; it should lift us emotionally and spiritually.” — John Saladino There are certain rooms that do more than contain…

by Ivan Barnett Even the most self-sacrificing visions have to be paid for, Oscar Wilde.  Image Ivan Barnett. “An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he…

By Ivan Barnett Native On Horse, Water Color, Paul Dyck. Over the past year I have come to understand something more clearly than ever before: the room matters. We are living through one of the most extraordinary technological moments in…

By Ivan Barnett John Gaw team front door, Santa Fe Indian School.  Image Ivan Barnett, 2020. “The Arts don’t exist in isolation.” — David Byrne What is a creative salon? At its purest, a salon is a space and moment…

By Ivan Barnett Homage to my friend Doug Menuez, who photographed “Steve” for Fearless Genius, 1986. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs I launched Serious…

By Ivan Barnett Chapel at Chimayo, New Mexico, by Roberto Cardinale (in the artist’s studio), 2021.  Image by Ivan Barnett. The first time I visited Santa Fe for the holidays—back in the mid ’70s—I felt like I’d stumbled into a…

By Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “An artist is not paid for their labor but their vision.” –Whistler, (Image Ivan Barnett and father) “Just two years ago I was afraid of even approaching AI tools.  Now they are like any other.”—Ivan…

By Ivan Barnett “Be a yardstick of quality.”  Steve Jobs.  Image by Ivan Barnett/Photo of Jobs by Doug Menuez “When it’s no longer about the stories, but only about the numbers—and the numbers are stacked against you—then I’m out.” —…

By Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “If only larger would guarantee success…nothing is forever.” Image IVAN BARNETT “There’s an enormous delta between idea and execution.” — Steve Jobs Coleman McCormick As an artist and former gallery creative director, I’ve learned the…

by Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “Greatness is always measured by doing more.”  Image and Words by Ivan Barnett. Every meaningful project has a strange, hard-to-name stretch near the end. The bones are there, the thing “works,” and yet you know…

By Ivan Barnett “Isolation can be a double edged sword.”  Amish Stable Detail.  Image Ivan Barnett “A good artist should be isolated. If he isn’t isolated, something is wrong.” — Orson Welles goodreads.com I’ve spent five decades in that paradox.…

By Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” Ben Franklin.  Santa Fe’s barrio.  Image Ivan Barnett. “Vision without systems thinking ends up painting lovely pictures of the future with no deep understanding of…