Giants

Captured footage from the opening night of Giants at MCASD is wrapped in the prisoner's clothes.

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"You shouldn't be a prisoner of your own ideas" is the title of a large quilt by conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, which inspired the music video.

The video begins with the experience of April 17th's opening night of Giants: art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. A new younger crowd is at MCASD, ready for an after party at Lou Lou's.

The documentation of celebration and dance is extended with the cultural fusion Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, Jack and the Beanstalk, and a Kumeyaay narrative of Kwin Mari'.

Why all these things?

"To me," says Meier, "they all belong as part of a conversation about art and individuality in San Diego, precisely at a time when technology enables anyone to visualize anything. The provenance of our beliefs matters even more."

The production process was driven by local San Diego artist Meier, by sampling Thomas' image and using AI technology on the 10zebra collaborative platform.

Any image can be taken out of context. Cultural reference through 'sampling' is only getting more important to understand. So in doing a mash up, it feels appropriate to attribute and understand the source of these stripes, both as literal clothing, as well as the symbols of the labyrinth of incarceration that, as Thomas alludes to (not so subtly) are not just about physically being locked up.

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Capital, 2021. by Hank Willis Thomas

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If you want to see Thomas's fabric quilt at MCASD (not shown here), you can check out the Giants at the Avant Garde Ball on May 2nd and on display until early August 2026. Many great artists in the show.

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