'The New and Futurity': lecture by Mark Cousins, 15th May, 1998

Extent: 1 audio cassette (90mins), 4 digital files (771.7 MB)

Comprises audio recording of a lecture entitled 'The New and Futurity' given by Mark Cousins on 15th May, 1998. Recordings consist of a Maxwell 90 audio cassette tape, 2 digital preservation files (629 MB, .wav format) and 2 digital access files (142.7 MB, .mp3 format). Duration of access version: 1hr 1min 52sec.

Copyright: Architectural Association

Creator: Mark Cousins

Admin History: The recording is of the 15th lecture in the series entitled 'The New', given by Mark Cousins as part of the AA General Studies programme, 1997-98. In this lecture, Mark Cousins discusses 'the New' as having a relation to time, which he defines in terms of 'tense'. He states that the new object is a property of the future and thus if something belongs to the past, it can't be a new object. He also elaborates on the avant-garde and why the pressure of history always endeavors to prevent the emergence of the new object. Cousins also criticizes the empirical conception of the new object and of chronology in art history and elaborates on Freud's ideas on the lost object, noting a circuit of need and satisfaction. Finally, Cousins discusses celebrity culture and the new object, concluding that in order to rethink the strong object, we need to rethink gender relations in terms of the female Oedipus complex.

Custodial History: Audio cassette recording was made by the AA Audio Visual Department and retained by the AA Photo Library until 2019, when it was transferred to the AA Archives.

Aquisition: Audio cassette was transferred from the AA Photo Library to the AA Archives in 2019. Digital preservation and access copies were created by the AA Archives in 2021.

Archive Note: Catalogue description by Samaneh Karimelahi

Publication Note: AA Events List, Summer Term, Week 3, 11-15th May, 1998