Born in the Iron Range community of Grand Rapids and a lifelong resident of Minnesota, Jack was raised in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina and attended the University of Minnesota where he received his bachelor’s degree in Art Education. For a span of time, while on the faculty for the U of M, Jack also created designs for small performing arts troupes as a scenic designer and properties master.
Also during this time, in the early 1960s, Jack performed in a handful of productions of Gilbert and Sullivan works for the Edyth Bush Theater/Hamline University in St. Paul, the University of Minnesota, and First Unitarian Center of Minneapolis. He performed the roles of Ko-Ko in The Mikado (two productions), the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance, and the Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe.
At the personal invitation of opera composer Richard Wagner’s granddaughter Friedelind, Jack spent time at the Bayreuth Festival and was enriched in the close exposure to the minimalist designs of director/designer Wieland Wagner.
Upon his return from Europe, Jack was hired as the resident designer for the fourth season of The Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (1968). After several years designing sets (and, on occasion, costumes), as well as teaching in its fledgling technical school, Jack left CTC to design for the Guthrie Theater, working with acclaimed directors including Michael Langham, Stephen Kanee, Garland Wright, Edward Gilbert, Ken Ruta and Liviu Ciulei. In time, Jack was given the title and duties of Director of Stage Design, coordinating and overseeing all aspects of visual production (sets, costumes, props and lighting) for the Guthrie stage. To this day, Barkla remains the most-produced set designer in both CTC and the Guthrie’s production histories.
During this time, Jack Barkla also partnered with Minneapolis’ flagship department store, Dayton’s, in designing environments for its downtown 8th floor auditorium. Each year, the store would create a Christmas-themed show as well as a spring flower show in partnership with local nursery Bachman’s. This relationship would last over three decades (during which time Dayton’s would become Marshall Field’s and then Macy’s before closing in 2015) and would be attended by hundreds of thousands of guests.
During the 1990s and beyond, Jack began to explore other areas of design. He created the annual electric Holidazzle parade (designing floats as well as collaborating with Jack Edwards on costumes and Michael Murnane on lighting) that flowed down Minneapolis’ downtown Nicollet Mall from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Other design work has included dozens of designs for commercial clients, ranging from restaurants (Rain Forest Cafe, Black Forest Inn), Superbowl shows, celebrity events (Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Princess Grace of Monaco) and various international companies via Business Incentives.
All the while, Jack Barkla also has created hundreds of paintings, drawings, sculptures … and continued to do so until his death in March, 2023.
Article in Twin Cities Magazine. August, 1981:
Article in Mpls Magazine. December, 1977.
