Visual Artist Nino Alicea (Got Framed, Atabey's Treasure): "My Favorite Part Is When You See People Enjoying It"

In this episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by visual artist & production designer Nino Alicea whose larger-than-life installations Got Framed and Atebay's Treasure are currently on display in San Francisco's Embarcadero as part of the city's year-long Big Art Loop initiative. Nino talks about the inspiration for both pieces. Got Framed, with it's 91 roses, is inspired by his grandmother Rosamelia and Atabey's Treasure is a tribute to Nino's homeland of Puerto Rico and the challenges it face after Hurricane Maria. Both pieces, as well as several others, were initially created for Burning Man, where Nino has mounted several pieces over the last decade. Nino talks about the moment over ten years ago where, after a week at Burning Man, he pledged to himself that he would have an installation at next year's festival, even though he had little idea how he would pull that off. With the help of a small army of fellow artisans and at least on engineer, he did it...and he's been going back every year. Nino also talks about getting to create props for Ricky Martin's "All In" Las Vegas residency and world tour and how that opportunity came because he was in the right place at the right time and "just said yes" when the possibility was suggested to him. Other topics include: that time he spent a month making over a hurricane-damaged basketball court in Puerto Rico, the steps one must take to get a piece into Burning Man, why the best part of his work is all the people he gets to work with, that "Oh shit" moment at Burning Man when he realized he didn't have enough screws, how he used recycled pizza tins for the fish gills on Atabey's Treasure and that time Nino went viral with a comedic video sketch in a stage show Dennis co-hostened that would probably get them both cancelled today. www.leaveittonino.com