When artist collective Hughen/Starkweather interviewed six staff members from the Asian Art Museum, they asked each staffer to choose an artwork from the museum's collection that is particularly meaningful to them, then to describe it from memory. The conversation between the artists and the staffers meandered from there, full of "love, passion and excitement," as the objective discriptions gave way to personal anecdotes. The result of these conversations is Re:depiction, an artistic event you can enjoy tonight.

Hughen/Starkweather (Jennifer Starkweather and Amanda Hughen) used the words from interviews with the Asian Art's Qamar Adamjee (associate curator of South Asian art), Miriam Mills (storyteller), Shiho Sasaki (paintings conservator), John Stucky (museum librarian), Susan Williams (security guard), and Jay Xu (director) to create an abstract works on paper, which will be shown tonight as large hanging scrolls alongside sound pieces comprised of interview excerpts.

Event attendees will get a map to help them find the staff-described works, and will be encouraged to submit their own memory of an artwork of their choice.

"We came up with this idea because we are interested in the personal stories behind a person’s relationship with an object," Hughen says. "Listening to someone tell a story about the Bay Bridge (our most recent project) or about a Korean vase helps us understand and get to know the subject we are exploring and investigating through a unique and personal lens."

What: Re:depiction with Hughen/Starkweather
When: 6:30-9 PM
Where: The Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street
Cost: $5, pay at the door