Muse-letter

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…

By Ivan Barnett Ivan age 3, “always observing and staying in the moment.”  1950.  Image Isa Barnett. “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso When I read…

By Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “Hold onto your story for dear life.”  Claire Kahn Studio.  Image Ivan Barnett.  “Story is the bridge between intention and value, the path a work takes from the maker’s hand to another life.” — Ivan…

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…

By Ivan Barnett   Image by Ivan Barnett. “Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the…

By Ivan Barnett, Serious Play “Technology Has To Start Somewhere.”  Image by Ivan Barnett. “No amount of skill-full invention can replace the essential element of imagination.”—Edward Hopper, American Painter. AI is here to stay. Whether we embrace it or not,…