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Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys on Art, Legacy & The Dean Collection | Okla Jones
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00:00Such an honor, such an honor.
00:02I am speaking with the deans.
00:03How are you this evening?
00:04All good, all good.
00:05Nice to have you in beautiful San Diego with us.
00:09For sure, man, I appreciate you.
00:10So Brooklyn, Atlanta, Minnesota, Virginia,
00:14now beautiful California.
00:16What went into the decision to bring Giants
00:18here to San Diego?
00:20Well, this is the only West Coast stop for Giants.
00:24So far, who knows the future, but as of right now.
00:27That's true, you never know.
00:28But at this point on the schedule,
00:30there's not another West Coast stop.
00:32And it's a really great, I think it's a wonderful place
00:35for it to come because it's in proximity.
00:38There's so many places.
00:39You can be in Orange County.
00:40You can be in LA.
00:42You can be in Mexico.
00:43You can be here.
00:45You could take a day trip here.
00:46So it's really a schedule thing,
00:49depending on kind of how the different institutions,
00:52what they have on the calendar.
00:54And so it worked out that this was perfect.
00:56And we're so happy that it's here.
00:58It's such an amazing, we want to open the doors
01:01to the whole community all across.
01:03And it's special.
01:04Because I'm based in Atlanta, too.
01:06So I was able to see the exhibition opening there.
01:08And it's kind of cool to see the energy that y'all brought
01:11to Atlanta and now the different energy in San Diego.
01:13Yeah, what did you feel so far is different without the doors being open yet?
01:17So I was able to do the preview and the color palette.
01:20Yeah.
01:21I thought that was really cool to, you know, how is the, and I was talking to Kimberly,
01:24and she said when you first saw it that you said it reminded you were home.
01:28What did she mean by that?
01:32Well, it's because of the work that's in there.
01:34It belongs in our home.
01:36And we designed Giants for it to feel like people are walking into our home.
01:40Right.
01:40And so like when you walk in and you have that home feeling, it's like, okay, you know,
01:44right now the music is not playing, certain curation is not happening.
01:48But we want people to feel like they're in our home.
01:51And so that's probably what she is talking about.
01:53Yeah.
01:53And that they're at home.
01:54That they're at home in this place.
01:56That they're welcome here.
01:57That they're supposed to be here.
01:58That they can sit down and ponder the pieces.
02:00They can think about it.
02:01They can relax.
02:02They can enjoy.
02:03I think a lot of times you don't necessarily think that you're going to go to a museum
02:07and you're going to like relax.
02:08You know, you kind of, this maybe is hectic or maybe you can't quite find your way through.
02:12Or maybe it doesn't really feel like you see something that's interesting to you.
02:16So we want all of that to feel different in all the places Giants is.
02:20And I think it does.
02:21So I wanted to actually stay on the music aspect.
02:23So I know the iconic Marvin Gaye, he would be the soundtrack to this particular edition.
02:28How does this artistry tie into the exhibition itself?
02:31Well, by the artist, for the artist, with the people, right?
02:36And strangely, you say the Marvin Gaye soundtrack, we, this is the first time we changed the soundtrack.
02:41Okay.
02:41Right.
02:41So this, this soundtrack being that it's the first show on the West Coast, you know,
02:45there's a beach right outside these walls.
02:47You just want to give people a different home feeling, right?
02:51So it's like our home in New York is, it'd be different than our home on the West Coast.
02:56And just the energy alone.
02:57And so we was like, man, this is a perfect time to curate,
03:01you know, a playlist that represents the energy that we're in here.
03:05Yeah.
03:06Look, I walked in and the music wasn't playing.
03:08He was like, I changed the playlist.
03:10I said, what?
03:11He's like, yes.
03:12We stood up.
03:13I was like, okay.
03:14She said, without me?
03:15I did not.
03:19No, she said, she said, you didn't tell me that.
03:21She said something like that.
03:23I got like a little bit of trouble over this.
03:24So actually, I saw y'all on y'all walking in earlier too.
03:27And I want to talk to you, Alicia, about your reaction to that huge Michelin Thomas piece.
03:31Like your energy was just infectious.
03:34Talk to me about why that piece was so important to incorporate to the Dean collection.
03:37You know, I want to, I want to say that, um, first of all,
03:41today was literally the first day that I saw that new Michelin Thomas piece.
03:47This is the first time anyone is going to see the piece.
03:50It hasn't been in any other Giants exhibition.
03:53So it's very exciting.
03:54And interestingly, when we opened in Brooklyn,
03:58this Meleco piece that's right behind us is the piece that brought me to tears.
04:02Because I couldn't believe that the way that Meleco shows is you have to show the entire
04:0830, 30 something panels.
04:10Yes, you can't break it up.
04:12And that was his vision.
04:14And can you imagine to have a vision so strong that you knew exactly what you wanted to paint
04:18for 30 panels and they have to stay together?
04:21I mean, it's just like another level.
04:23And so I just remember that that took me to a whole place and just realizing that it was real,
04:29that all the work that it takes to get to this point in any number of ways for all of
04:34our lives,
04:34it, it accumulated in that moment with Meleco.
04:37Today, being able to see Mickalene Thomas in that same way is another kind of milestone for us.
04:45Because when, you know, Swiss found this piece and he said like,
04:51this feels really important for us.
04:53And ultimately that piece of stairs, we like to equate it to Mickalene's first song.
05:01So when we think of our first songs, this is the reason why Giants is so special because
05:05when he says by the artists, for the artists, with the people, it's like there is a connection
05:11that we have together with the artists because we're all artists.
05:15And so there's another level of understanding what it takes to be an artist and what it how
05:18difficult it is and how you have to push through and make people believe when they don't have any
05:23reason to and all these things.
05:25And so when we think of our first songs, mine being Fallen, His Me and Stop Drop,
05:30those are the most important times in our life.
05:36It started a thing that we never imagined would ever happen.
05:42Yeah, it was in 2010 she did that piece.
05:45So this is like her Fallen.
05:48This is like her Stop Drop.
05:50And so this is why we can connect so deeply to it because we understand all the things it took
05:56to
05:57get to that point.
05:58And now it being on that wall looking so beautiful.
06:02And like, how crazy is it that she knew exactly who she was all the way then?
06:08And now you can see that work and it relates to her other work, you know, it's her, which is
06:12crazy.
06:13So the identity that she formed was already full grown in her first, you know, real kind of display
06:21of it, which is just insane.
06:22And I guess in a way, so was his and so was mine.
06:25So it's really, really, really deep.
06:28And so that's why you got that whole crazy thing.
06:31You're like, yeah, that was for real.
06:34Because it was serious.
06:36First time I've ever seen in her life.
06:38So I really love you guys relationship is really beautiful.
06:41But I want to talk about the Dean collection.
06:43Is there ever a moment when you like something and she doesn't or you like something and he doesn't?
06:48And if so, how do you guys navigate through the challenges of putting certain pieces in the
06:52Dean collection that you guys might not agree with?
06:55It's very rare that we don't agree on something.
06:57But like she might say like, you know, it's not speaking to me.
07:02And I'm like, okay, don't worry about it.
07:04It's very simple.
07:05Yeah.
07:05Yeah.
07:05It's pretty, it's not, it's not very complex.
07:08Most of the time, I mean, we really do.
07:12It's really, we have a synergy.
07:14So most of the time, what he loves, I love.
07:17And yeah, and what I love, he loves.
07:21And he, you know, it's, this is something that he really leads because he has,
07:25he has the, he has this innate instinctual kind of understanding of like a number of things.
07:33What, what's working, what's coming, you know, why is something special?
07:39And he has a really, he's a natural.
07:41Like people have to study for years and years and years to like get it wrong.
07:46And he just is a natural.
07:48So, um, it's really cool to be able to see what he loves and then to know that the rest
07:53is kind of up to what feels like it works, you know, between us.
07:56So now there's not like some big beef going on or anything like that.
07:59And we're, you know, we're super transparent with each other and we're able to be very honest.
08:03That's how we go with everything.
08:04So it's not like, it's, it's, it's easy.
08:07So it's a lot of amazing pieces in this collection, but the one that spoke to me the most,
08:11there's a Barclay Hendrix upstairs.
08:14The, the, the, the landscape?
08:16Yes.
08:16And I'm, I, when I think about him, I think of portraiture.
08:19Right.
08:20You know, so I wanted to ask you, what about that particular piece, you know, drew you the
08:25most to it and why you wanted to put that to the collection?
08:27Well, we, I've been a big fan of Barclays for a long time, got to meet him, spend time with
08:32him.
08:33I was looking to acquire for our collection, the man with the pink suit.
08:38It was sold when I got there, ended up going out to dinner with him and his wife
08:44after, uh, with, with Jack Shaman.
08:47And then because he had the show for, for the piece, I thought I can just go in and buy.
08:51Um, and I remember, you know, Barclay saying, you should come, uh, to the studio and pick what
08:59you want instead of like doing that at the show.
09:02You know, we really like what you guys are doing with the collection, this, that, and the third.
09:06Um, he passed away.
09:08We never really get to go see his, uh, studio.
09:12Um, but then I remember his wife saying that he has landscapes that no one, he always acts like,
09:21it's somebody get the landscapes and somebody get the landscapes.
09:23They only want, everybody only wanted the figurative work.
09:27So, you know, when, when he passed away, when, when, when, when he passed away, um,
09:35I was like, man, we still have to have Barclays in our, in our collection.
09:39And so the landscape thing came to my mind.
09:41I was like, well, you know, all the landscapes are available.
09:44And then so, uh, we ended up buying the whole collection of the landscape.
09:47Like that's just a few upstairs, but we hold the landscape story from Barclay Hendrix with,
09:52with his favorite paintings that he would do on vacation.
09:56So those paintings meant a lot to him.
09:58The figurative work was more of like him going to work.
10:01This was more like him on vacation.
10:02And so I felt that for us to have his most relaxed, uh, works that people never really
10:10even knew, knew he did landscapes was a different story that we can have in the Dean collection.
10:16Uh, although we do love the landscape.
10:18I mean, we do love the figurative works as well.
10:19Yeah.
10:19It was such a dope selection.
10:21I feel like I looked like, I didn't even know he did, you know,
10:24and I'm of course not as well versus you, but I didn't know that he even did landscape.
10:28Yeah.
10:28A lot of people, 99% of people, uh,
10:33don't know.
10:33And then especially since it looks like you're looking through a window.
10:37Yeah.
10:37Almost, you know, the framing is super beautiful and the covet, the colors are wild, vivid.
10:41And, you know, there are so many more of them that, you know, but we did a selection for it.
10:47So again, that just kind of speaks to kind of what I was saying with the way that, that he
10:52looks at
10:54everything.
10:54It's a very individual thing.
10:56So when he came back and he was like, I think it's about the landscapes because imagine
11:00we can have all of these landscapes from Barclay.
11:03And how special is that?
11:04That that would be something that we collected.
11:06That's his favorite.
11:07I felt that it was a great addition to the collection because we have a lot of
11:11figurative works and, you know, a lot of young artists coming up,
11:14thinking that that's what they have to paint to be successful.
11:17Right.
11:17Right.
11:17So like switching it up, like, man, like even Barclay Hendrix did landscapes.
11:21You can do landscapes.
11:22You can do different mediums and different formats, not only with the hype is going towards.
11:28And so we thought that that was great for people to see that.
11:31Like, wow.
11:31Like, okay, this, we can do landscapes are cool.
11:35So I had a really, really great tasting croissant at Port Vita.
11:41And I was able to meet the owner and she, you know, told me the story about how, you know,
11:45you walked in and I wanted to talk about the hometown heroes, you know, what I guess,
11:51inspires you to want to highlight the local artists of San Diego and put that as part of
11:56the show this time around.
11:57Man, we always felt that we highlighted the artists, you know, which is why we have giants
12:02and which is why we have no commissions in the endless amount of work that we do and will continue
12:07to do.
12:09But going to that show on Barrio Logan and seeing it in a coffee shop and just feeling the energy.
12:14Point low.
12:16Yeah.
12:16And it was just like, I was like, man, like all of these photography works are amazing.
12:22And just instantly wanted to support them and have, you know, their works in the Dean
12:29Collection.
12:30Then two or three days later, I started getting texts, phone calls.
12:33And I realized that that one move right there was touching so many people.
12:39And here we are coming to San Diego where we didn't grow up,
12:43where we're bringing our art show, but like how are we really including the energy of the people
12:48that built this space creatively?
12:50And so we came up with the idea of like, you know what, let's do something different
12:54and call it hometown heroes.
12:56So we felt that it was bringing the community together for real.
13:02And especially when we have a chance to be in an institution that might not have the welcome
13:08that people want.
13:09Because, you know, people say, man, we never really been in that museum.
13:12I'm like, how you never been in that museum?
13:13And so I think it's just our job to make the reintroduction to these creative spaces
13:20when we go there and make people feel welcome in their own home.
13:25You know?
13:25Now, did you go to get the croissant there because you knew this is where the artwork was acquired?
13:32Well, I'm here with the Tourism Authority and they gave me like a kind of a tour.
13:37And that was one of the tour stops.
13:39And, you know, I was talking to the owner and she happened to tell me like,
13:42yeah, the group.
13:43And I'm like, oh, that's so cool.
13:44So it was kind of, I didn't know before I went, but I think they might have brought me
13:48because I like to ask questions.
13:49So I think they brought me there for that.
13:51That was a good move.
13:52That's actually super cool that you can experience different parts of the city
13:57and then come and see the work.
13:59And I mean, the photography is outrageous.
14:02It's so good.
14:03It's so beautiful.
14:04It's so raw.
14:05It's so organic.
14:06You really feel like the spirit, you know, and that's what happens with all of these works.
14:11And so big love to MJ and Oscar and Chata, who is really like just being able to showcase their
14:18work here is such a blessing and it adds so much.
14:22And you feel the spirit of all the work.
14:24It's just the beginning.
14:25Yeah.
14:26It's so cool.
14:27I'm so happy you said that story.
14:29That's super fresh.
14:30There's actually a huge art scene here too.
14:32And I think the city, I think it's surfing tacos, you know, but there's,
14:36you know, it's a, it's a huge city too.
14:38It's really, I'm really enjoying my time here.
14:40Mm-hmm fire.
14:42So that piano.
14:44My CP 70.
14:45Yes.
14:45Talk to me about the emotion that that brings out when you see that.
14:49So I have to say that that's one of my favorite, this is one of my favorite ways that it's
14:53set up.
14:54Like, like we said, every time we come, it's a different experience.
14:58In this case, when we first walked in and saw kind of the introduction of giants,
15:03and then we walked past it, the CP 70, the piano is right there to your right.
15:08And it's in this corner area.
15:09And it's just kind of like, it belongs there.
15:11Like it was meant to be there.
15:12And I looked at it and I just was like, oh, that's so good.
15:17The CP 70 is such a fresh piano.
15:19Um, it's a piano that, that Prince used a lot.
15:23And it has a certain sonic and a certain sound that, that just evokes so much emotion.
15:29It's different from an acoustic piano because it's still electric, but it really has the
15:35action and it has the ability.
15:37It has a large keyboard so you can really play a lot of things.
15:41And the sound itself has an emotional sound.
15:43So I was using that piano because it's quite portable.
15:47And a lot of times, um, it actually had, I, I particularly brought that piano to life
15:53when I did a song called We Are Here, which was a moment where I was asking kind of this
15:59question of why do we think we're here?
16:01It was a question that I was asking that actually was the catalyst to my Here album.
16:05Um, and, um, I use that piano a lot.
16:07I would take it to the top of the roof on the rooftop in New York City.
16:10And I just play and I play this song and, and I wanted to put the words of some of
16:15the
16:15things that were coming up.
16:17And so that's why you see all that graffiti on the piano and just all the writing on it
16:21with these powerful words, because it was just a reminder of like what's important.
16:25And so to see that as a part of the exhibition, there's a purpose to have the BMX bikes that
16:31my love grew up with and cool Hurts stereo system and all of these things that kind of show
16:37the inspiration of the music, which led to the love of art.
16:42And so that piano, that CP 70 is like part of that experience.
16:45So I really love that it was right there.
16:47I mean, kind of want to play it, but you can't, but I kind of want to.
16:51Right.
16:52So, and this is actually, I'm going to close with this.
16:55Uh, why is it important for you to, to highlight black artists, not just with this exhibition,
17:00but highlight black artists in general?
17:02Why is that important to me too?
17:03Giants is so incredible because oftentimes it's really an inspiration from our, um, from,
17:11from no commissions and no commissions really started to talk about how are we
17:20welcoming people into the world of art and how are people welcomed into the world of art?
17:25And oftentimes so many people, especially young people don't feel welcomed.
17:29I mean, I don't personally remember feeling like I was going to run to the museum to go see,
17:33I don't know what, you know what I mean?
17:35I didn't really feel invited.
17:37I didn't really feel like it was going to be a place that I was going to really find
17:40something that felt like it related to me.
17:43And so, um, with no commissions, the idea was like, how do we, we want to bring everybody,
17:50people who feel like, oh, you can only, you know, you can only like art if you can,
17:54you know, because you have to be super wealthy to be able to afford whatever,
17:58or, you know, it's not, it's not meant for me, or you go into the place and everybody's hounding
18:03you that they're going to let you, you know, you're like, I just want to see something beautiful
18:08and feel something beautiful. And so the, to bring this now to institutions where, you know,
18:16our son is 11. He just brought his two friends over and you can be any age and you can
18:23come here
18:23and you can feel like, man, look at all of these diverse, beautiful expressions on the wall.
18:30Like there's, there's no limit to what you might be receiving from what you're seeing.
18:36And so that is the reason why we really wanted to make sure that, that our culture was on the
18:45walls
18:46of these institutions and spaces in the greatness that we are in the masterful, masterful ways that
18:57we've created in these spaces is unbelievable. You can't believe how beautiful it is and what stories
19:06it tells and what it means. And so that's why it's so important because we belong everywhere
19:12and we definitely belong here.
19:15And what you're seeing on these walls are very hard to put on them.
19:19You know, we had to fight for, you know, almost 80% of the art that's on these walls to
19:23be on these
19:24walls in our collection. So, you know, it looks easy, but we had to come through the door in a
19:31different
19:31type of way. And thank God that the artists who our family members fought for us in the community
19:36fought for us to have these masterpieces in the shows, because, you know, usually they only want
19:41these shows to go to certain collectors, which we were on that particular list or certain museums.
19:47And so our answer was like, okay, well, let's put, let's put the artists on all the goddamn museums,
19:51since the reason why us night, the reason why we can't get work is because it's going to a museum.
19:57So it's like, okay, well, let's put it in all the museums. Right. And so that was our little thing.
20:04But it's more of an educational piece. And it's also an entry point for people that
20:11love art and want to express themselves, but they had no reference points of what to even,
20:17what the end goal is, or what's the entry point or the exit strategy for it. And so like, we
20:23hope that
20:23the youth come in and get motivated and say, you know what, I'm going to be on those walls and
20:29bigger
20:30ones. You know, so that's, that's the goal.
20:33Swiss, Alicia, I appreciate y'all. Congratulations. Thank you for talking.
20:37Thank you. You too.
20:38Thank you. Yes, yes.
20:39Fire.
20:41Thank y'all.
20:42That was great. Thank you guys.
20:43I really appreciate you.