Summer Reading List 2024

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Logo: JP Morgan. Text: summer reading list 2024. Chelsea Crowder Luke addresses us. She is wearing a red top and large golden earrings. She has a shaved hairstyle.

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Hello. My name is Chelsea Crowder Luke. And I am thrilled to be joined by a power couple that really needs no introduction. Their

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Alicia Keys sits across from Chelsea Crowder Luke. She's wearing a black dress. Her hair is tied up in a bun with several braids that hang down. She has large golden earrings and smiles brightly. Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean sits in an armchair. He is connected to the meeting remotely. He is wearing a black hoodie, black pants, and a black hat with transparent glasses. He has a beard. There is a black glossy upright piano and chessboard in the background. Videos: a Broadway musical on stage with multiple moving elements, singers, and dancers. An art gallery with large paintings on the wall. Text: Meleko Mokgosi, Bread, Butter, and Power, 2018. Picture credit: O Meleko Mokgosi. Courtesy the artist, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, and Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, Photo: Monica Nouwens / The Dean Collection, Courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys (pages 210-211). Installation view, Fowler Museum at University of California, Los Angeles.

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work can be heard on radio waves, seen on the Broadway stage, curated in galleries across the globe, and found on your bookshelves. And

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Image: the black front cover of a book titled art from the dean collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

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today, we're here to discuss their new book, Giants Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. Mr. and Mrs. Dean, we're so excited to have you.

Thank

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Split screen with a video feed from each member of the couple. Swizz Beatz is on the left. Text: New York. Alicia Keys is on the right. Text: San Diego.

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you. We're happy to be here. Hi, my love.

Hey, guys.

So

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Chelsea Crowder Luke and Alicia Keys sit across from each other in armchairs. There are two copies of the art book on a small table between them.

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what was the spark for the dream of the Dean collection?

My love, why don't you start, and then I'll chime in?

Well, the start of the Dean collection started with the love for art, creativity, and just growing up around it and wanting to express a different side other than music. We wanted to show people that it's cool to collect art. It's cool to be a visual artist, a photographer. Because

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Image: a large piece of artwork made of different elements from paintings to balloons to stuffed animals. It is extremely colorful and represents multiple African-American people. Text: Ebony G. Patterson, … they were just hanging out you know ….. talking about... (... when they grow up …), 2016. Picture credit: O Ebony G. Patterson, Courtesy the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery / The Dean Collection, Courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys (pages 224-225). Beads, appliqués, fabric, glitter, buttons, costume jewelry, trimming, rhinestones, glue, and digital prints, overall 90 × 225 in. (228.6 × 571.5 cm), 3 background paper panels: 94 × 88 in. (238.8 x 223.5 cm), 88 x 47 in. (223.5 × 119,4 cm), and 90 × 84 in. (228.6 x 213.4 cm)

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for us, the arts is important because it's the way a lot of people can express themselves. You

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Photograph: five B boys lean backwards over onto each other as one balances on one arm on top of them all. Text: Jamel Shabazz, Breezy Boy Breakers, Midtown, Manhattan, NYC, 2011. Picture credit: Courtesy of Jamel Shabazz, Photo: Glenn Steigelman / The Dean Collection, Courtesy of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys (page 115) Chromogenic print, 11 × 14 in. (27.9 * 35.6 cm).

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might not academically be able to express yourself the best at a certain moment, but through arts, I've seen a lot of people go past the genius level.

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Painting: an African-American woman leans towards another seated in a chair and holds her face in her hands.

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And so we just want to make sure that we're representing that service in the best way possible.

And I'll chime in and say that actually, Swizz is an artist himself. So he really loves art. And so when I first met him, he was able to speak to me about so many different artists. And so that was such a beautiful way to get to know him through art that he loves and creates. And from there, that passion and that love is really exactly the beginning of the Dean collection, to be able to introduce and support artists who we love their work, we love what they're talking about, we love what it represents. And we love that it's so diverse.

And so our kids get to be exposed to different artists from all over the world and different messages and meanings. And so it's really beautiful to be able to uplift other artists, especially being artists ourselves.

I love that. Can you guys talk a little bit about what you kind of have identified, whether it's in the artist or in the work, that says this is a part of the Dean collection, like this has that X factor, that something special?

It's very simple. Collecting art from the heart-- art, heart. Like each collector develops a different eye for what they want. In the beginning, I was collecting for hype and to have important people come to the house and see what I had on the walls, rather than actually loving what was on the walls.

So entering the Dean collection it was like, you know what, we don't have to collect for hype. We need to collect only what we love. Luckily, I was developed between me and my wife. Everything that we collected, we've done it ourselves.

Swizz's instinct for art is so spot on that many of what were once emerging artists are tremendously successful artists. And when we opened Giants at the Brooklyn Museum, this was the first time that we both had seen the collection all in one place. I think what was so shocking about it for me is how well they go together, is how you really feel a spirit between them, is how you really create an emotion and a feeling and you feel it.

I will definitely say, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the opening in Brooklyn. And it was overwhelming to see all of those works in one place. You really should probably plan for multiple days if you actually want to be able to sit with all of the work that's there because it's just so expansive. And I think it was also amazing to see all of the people who were there enjoying and experiencing the works, as well.

I've talked with both of you a little bit about how the art world can sometimes feel a little bit impenetrable, especially for communities of color. So I'd love to talk with you both about the decision to share the collection with the world.

Yeah, I feel like art is to be shared. We felt that it was a good idea to move works outside of the storage and put them in front of the youth and the future collectors, the future artists, and people that never really felt they had a seat at the table to come be a part of something that they can identify as their own, and seeing themselves in the mirror when they walk into Giants. We feel like it's more of a, welcome to the family.

Yeah, and I think what you said is such a beautiful sentiment, because the diversity that walks through the doors is exceptional. It's bright. There's places to sit. You're hearing music playing. You're seeing these beautiful masters on the wall. They're masters. And for it to now travel all over the world is another big dream for us, is really special.

I know that you realized another long time dream this year with your Tony Award winning show, Hell's Kitchen, debuting on Broadway.

I

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Video: artists sing and dance on the Broadway stage. Their wardrobe is urban. People break dance. There are bright lights and even lasers at one point. Image: the Hells kitchen poster. Text: REMEMBER WHERE DREAMS BEGIN. HELL'S KITCHEN, A NEW MUSICAL ON BROADWAY. MUSIC AND LYRICS BY ALICIA KEYS. BOOK BY KRISTOFFER DIAZ. CHOREOGRAPHY BY CAMILLE A. BROWN. DIRECTED BY MICHAEL GREIF. SHUBERT THEATRE 225 W 44TH ST

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think similar to the Dean Collection, Hell's Kitchen is a long time in the making, 13 years of creating and workshopping. And there's this long term commitment and investment to creating something that you love. Because it's purely from the heart. And Hell's Kitchen is based on my experiences growing up in New York City in a neighborhood called Hell's Kitchen. But it's everybody's story. And to see that on the stage, on the Broadway stage, is still quite a unique experience.

So for each of you, I'm wondering if there is a specific piece that really resonates with you, I'll say, that's a part of the show, and kind of the story behind why.

It's hard to pick one. But I will go with the Arthur Jaffa, Big Wheel. The Big Wheel just had a strong presence and represented Giants to the max. And

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Photograph: a large tire hangs from a tall metal structure. The tire is covered in chains. At the center of the tire there is a cluster of metal. There is a brick wall in the background.

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I remember getting that piece. And I remember Arthur Jaffa getting very emotional, saying that we're his first collectors of color, which I thought was crazy because Arthur Jaffa is older than us. And it just still shows you how much more we have to go.

OK, that's a good one. I was trying to guess what you would say. And he's right. It's so hard to choose one. And the thing is, you fall in love with each one in different moments over and over again. So that's the cool part. But I would probably say The Titus. The Titus is my favorite piece.

I knew you were going to say that. That's why I didn't say it.

Thank you. It's very unique. And it's the first piece of its kind that he's done that has a triptych of--

Muhammad Ali silhouette.

Right, with Muhammad Ali silhouette that tells three completely different stories. We

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Images from the book: a woman wrapped in garments kneels and rays, an African-American man appears in the silhouette of Muhammad Ali, British soldiers appear in the silhouette of another person in the battlefield.

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actually saw it in person together for a very special anniversary of ours.

No, it was my birthday.

Was it your birthday?

She was spoiling me. She spoiling me-- jamaican breakfast. Yeah, it was amazing.

That's right. It was so good. We had food in front of it. We had this table. We had a harpist. And we were looking at the work. So having that person-- again, back to that personal connection where we can be in the studio and be kind of seeing it in its first incarnation, and then tracking it all the way into the museum space, I think it stands out for a number of reasons.

Giants is on the JPMorgan summer reading list for 2024.

Yay.

So

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Image: the front cover of Giants.

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clients across the globe have been able to receive this book. What are you hoping that readers take away from it? And how do you think the book really complements the physical experience of being able to see the work hung in a show?

The book is so, so special. I

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Images from the book: a minimalist cubist sketch of Langston Hughes. An African-American man flies through the air on a motorbike with his arms behind him, a portrait of an African-American woman, a rectangle full of brightly colored patterns and shapes, two portraits of African-American women, texts from the book, swimming pool scene with African-American people on inflatable pool toys and in the pool.

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mean, you get a chance to go even deeper than you possibly would in person, which is beautiful. I think the collection is quite colorful. It's meant to feel giant and oversized and kind of powerful and special. And you get to learn more about what the artist viewed and why the artist created these pieces.

We have very intimate and personal accounts from many of the artists in the book, which is kind of like being there opening night, when you can talk with them and have a moment to just embrace them and understand.

Just in case you can't be there opening night, you get the book.

You can do it in the book. This has definitely been a big dream of ours to create something that would really represent some of the works in the Dean collection. So we really appreciate the love that you've shown, that JPMorgan has shown, and also the connection that we have.

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Well, thank you both so much for your time. We appreciate you. We are so proud to have Giants as a part of the summer reading list this year. So, again, thank you both for the time.

Yes.

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Text: SUMMER reading LIST 2024, jpmorgan.com/readinglist, #SRL2024. Logos: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Logo: JP Morgan.