JOHN MAWURNDJUL'S ART IN PARIS

Abstract

The Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac (MQBJC) in Paris includes a commissioned ceiling mural by Australian artist John Mawurndjul. Neither the identity of the artist nor the cultural meaning of the work features strongly as part of the visitor experience for this work. Such interpretation is, in general, pushed to the margins in the museum's permanent exhibits. Paradoxically, the temporary exhibits are treated differently. The paper details how the power of John Mawurndjul's art is developed in relation to social activities on his own country as well as his cross-cultural engagements with the broader art world. Cultural meaning and strong principles of aesthetics are developed through this creativity. The paper presents these insights as interpretational possibilities for Mawurndjul's mural and questions whether an avowed museum of world arts can continue to ignore the development of a more cross-cultural definition of aesthetics and a relational approach to develop and interpret its permanent exhibits.