Will Ryman (far right) oversees installation of 58th Street, August 1, 2011. Photo: Amy Wike

One of the perks of working in a museum is that you get to talk to the curators, and occasionally the artists, who create the exhibitions. So it had never crossed my mind to try our Guide by Cell, since I actually got to meet Will Ryman when he came to install his work 58th Street. But walking back from lunch today I passed those (ominous? fanciful?) oversized blossoms and bugs at the corner of 21st and Q and stopped to call the number listed below the work. What would I hear? Well, I heard Will Ryman. I have to say, it was kind of a neat sensation, standing there on the sidewalk in front of his sculpture, looking directly in to one of the giant blooming roses and feeling like I had just rung up the artist to ask, “Hey, can you tell me about this thing?” And he did.

You can call Guide by Cell stops even if you’re not at the museum. To learn more from Ryman about his sculpture, call 202-595-1839, 40#.