The Revue, February 2021

February has landed, and with it an extra few minutes of daylight that have us optimistically dreaming of spring. While we wait for those longer, warmer days to arrive, here are some more highlights from across the web to keep you entertained. This month’s picks include a playlist from one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, an ode to Mulberry Street in New York’s Little Italy, and a walk through two landmark exhibitions. Enjoy.

listen: Inside James Baldwin’s Record Collection 

471 tracks, 31 hours, James Baldwin’s record collection is now available to listen to as a single marathon playlist. Ikechúkwú Onyewuenyi, a curator at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, first came across the collection whilst researching Baldwin’s final play, The Welcome Table. Through a series of photographs posted by La Maison Baldwin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the writer’s legacy in the South of France, Onyewuenyi was able to piece together Baldwin’s vast record collection. “Looking over pictures of Baldwin’s house in Provence, I latched onto his records, their sonic ambiance… listening to the records was something that could transport me there.” A labour of love, the Chez Baldwin playlist features songs from the likes of Dinah Washington, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Sarah Vaughan, songs that would have soundtracked the creation of some of his most powerful works.

read: Arrivederci, Little Italy, Mark Binelli, The New Yorker

Author Mark Binelli, a Detroit native, made the move to Little Italy, NYC in 1999, the offer of an apartment on the iconic Mulberry Street a chance he couldn’t pass up. “The street of iconic Jacob Riis photographs, famous Mob hits, and Martin Scorsese movies,” Binelli, the son of Italian immigrants, considered Mulberry Street his spiritual home. While creeping gentrification continued to alter this historic corner of Manhattan, “enough vestiges of the old neighborhood remained… the slice place on Prince, Lombardi’s for whole pies, a butcher’s, a barbershop, a knife sharpener’s.” By the time he left in 2019, the Little Italy he’d known and loved had all but disappeared. A story of the changing face of NYC, catch Binelli’s touching ode to his former home in The New Yorker.  

watch: Barbara Hepworth at the Tate, BFI Player

Fans of obscure archive footage should find plenty to keep them amused at the BFI Player website. Alongside some incredible on-demand new releases, the institute carries a huge selection of obscure short films and clips from across the ages. From 1980s Notting Hill Carnival to post-war playgrounds, Bernard Leach to Kings Road punks, the offer spans place, time and genre. We’ve picked out a real gem from 1968, a tour of the Barbara Hepworth’s celebrated Tate retrospective, narrated by the woman herself. Press play.

view: Louise Bourgeois, The Heart Has Its Reasons, Hauser & Wirth, Gstaad

Currently closed due to covid-19, Hauser & Wirth’s scenic Gstaad gallery shares its latest exhibition, an overview of work from the incredible Louise Bourgeois. Sixty years of drawing and sculpture on show, familiar themes reappear: love, the human body, male and female, the conscious vs. the unconscious, all set against views of a dramatic alpine landscape. A must watch.

Read: The Modern Architecture of Cadaqués: 1955–71, Apartamento

Another impressive release from Apartamento, this latest volume, The Modern Architecture of Cadaqués: 1955–71, revisits an underappreciated Spanish design movement across 246 pages. A pretty fishing village on the Costa Brava, Cadaqués played summer retreat to the likes of Miró and Duchamp. Inspired by the region’s creative community, a group of young architects turned the town into testing ground for their take on the new Mediterranean home. 22 residences designed by the likes of Federico Correa, Alfonso Milà and José Antonio Coderch feature in this new hardcover book, with an introduction from acclaimed architect Oscar Tusquets.

product focus: Brushed Shetland Wool Crew Neck Jumper

A knitwear must for fans of classic prep, the brushed Shetland crewneck joins the Perennials collection, an evolving selection of essentials available all year round. Working with expert knitters in the Scottish Borders, Drake’s have created a 100% lambswool jumper with a seamless construction. Pleasingly worn in thanks to its brushed finish, this cheerful shade of yellow is available alongside five other colours including navy, ecru and grey.