We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Calle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Being an artist is being a person who looks at the world with continual questions; trying to interpret, distill, and decontextualize what is in front of them at every turn. It’s like a three year old constantly asking, “Why?”.

“Why’s the ground brown?”

(insert scientific answer here)

“Why?”

(insert scientific detail here)

“Why?”… and on and on we go. It can be… exhausting… and the effort takes time.

That’s the work… and it’s crucial. Without that energy and drive, the artist is left with a piece that lacks depth in it’s analysis. The piece seems vapid, superficial, and redundant, and worse yet, it doesn’t SAY anything.

Creating art is a chore, it is work, and it is tiresome. The destination is, more times than not, hazy at best, and once you’re there, it lacks.

…but that’s the gig; and you have to be in love with the journey, ignoring where it’ll eventually go.

To an artist losing the love of the journey, a regular 9-5 can seem almost exotic AND comfortable; for a time. Inevitably though, that three year old wakes up from the cat nap, and the questions start going again. Dogs bark, snakes bite, and artists create.

Alex, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I create worlds for a living; designing environments that house characters and tell stories. I’ve created lands for themeparks, environments for movies, sets for theatrical plays / musicals / concert tours, and kinetic art and installations around the world. I get to work with incredible people, on incredible projects, and in incredible places. It’s been amazing.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal is to tell great stories…in unique venues… that have mass appeal. I’m really focused on the intersection of environmental storytelling and real estate development. What drives guests to a specific music festival venue (EDC Vegas), Shopping District (The Grove Los Angeles), or Hotel / Resort (Great Wolf Lodge)? What is the mix of story, price point, and convenience that triggers guests to invest? That is the creative driver that’s been incredibly interesting to me.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Don’t be singularly labeled. People love to assign you to a box. It’s not abusive, it’s just nature. We, as a species, have figured out a way to process the millions of data points thrown at us every given minute. One of those tricks is to immediately define and compartmentalize people into genres, roles, and labels. For an artist, that can be difficult. I’ create environments for theme parks, yes, but not just that. I love working in many disciplines and in different mediums. I find that my best work evolves from the stealing of one medium and applying it in another; and the more polar opposite the genre or medium… the better. I am a stage and screen designer, yes. But I am also business man, entrepreneur, magician, creative executive, real estate developer, writer, etc. etc. etc. Don’t limit your labels. Expand them. One day they’ll make sense when they converge on a project; you’ll surprise even yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hiddenlemons.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hidden_lemons/

Image Credits

Spellbound Bar by Magic Castle & Princess Cruises, If Nobody Does Remarkable Things, San Manuel Casino / Yaamava’ Rebrand, Great Wolf Lodge Gurnee, Princess Cruises Project Sphere, Magic City (Starz), Samsung Unpacked, Crane Dance Resorts World Sentosa, Nikki Minaj The Pinkprint Tour, Avocado Mattress Flagship Store New York City, Blue’s Big City Adventure (Paramount+), Motiongate Dubai