A playfully absurdist portrait of sculptor and performance artist Aki Sasamoto from Art21. Part of their New York Up Close series, “An Artist Walks into a Bar” combines fiction and documentary to explore the magical realist world of spinning objects particular to Sasamoto’s way of thinking and deadpan style. Drinking and bar culture serves as a source of inspiration for much of her recent work, so a real-world Brooklyn bar becomes a fitting stage for Sasamoto to reflect on past projects and recent motherhood.

This video was submitted by Art21 and selected by our team.