Exposed: how Sugimoto's mind-bending photography began with a sexual awakening at the movies.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(Hiroshi Sugimoto)(Interview)

Hiroshi Sugimoto's enigmatic black-and-white photographs tease, whether they focus on the imperceptible line between ocean and sky on a misty day or a seemingly alive stuffed polar bear in a museum diorama. The largest retrospective of Sugimoto's influential 30-year career is at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden until May 14, with a companion exhibition open through July 30 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The Japanese-born photographer, who is 58 and lives in New York City, spoke with SMITHSONIAN'S Jennifer Drapkin:

It has been said you condense the life of an object into a single image.

I accept most interpretations of my art. I …