“The Objects in Motion” Project. Developed by students in Dr. Mark Auslander’s class “Global Studies and Cross Cultural Analysis “‘ (ANTH 205), at the University of Southern California-Capital Campus. Fall 2025
Return to our Anth-205 class project homepage: https://markauslander.com/2025/11/24/objects-in-motion-student-anthropology-projects-usc-capital-campus-fall-2025/
In 1963, the Louvre’s most famous masterpiece crossed the Atlantic for the first time as an official French loan, yet the gesture carried all the emotional weight and symbolism of a gift. When the Mona Lisa arrived in Washington, DC, she became more than an artwork on temporary display; she served as an emblem of goodwill, cultural partnership, and the uniquely human impulse to share what we treasure most.
This dynamic mirrors a later and famously celebrated moment in Washington: the arrival of the pandas from China, a “loan” that the public overwhelmingly experienced as a national gift. Like the pandas, the Mona Lisa’s visit carried soft-power value far beyond its technical legal status. Both were loans on paper, but gifts in sentiment. Acts of cultural diplomacy designed to charm, impress, and build goodwill.
In this project, we also use the ideas of Marx, Mauss, Winnicott, and Mintz to explore what the Mona Lisa means as an object and why its loan to Washington, D.C. matters.