Sw!pe

The thing about museums is that they attract creative people, even for those positions that aren't traditionally seen as creative, such as the security force. In that vein, NPR recently had a story about the brand-new art and literary magazine Sw!pe, the claim to fame of which is that all materials in it were produced by people who are or were security guards at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The named comes from the fact that its contributors have to clock in and out, unlike salaried employees, not, so we think, from any allusion to art theft. And the profession isn't an arbitrary one, either. This passage from the article discusses the kind of osmosis that takes place even unconsciously:

Other guards say it's exhausting to stand for hours, but almost everyone says the museum has influenced them. Barry Steeley pointed to a self-portrait at the exhibition — a greenish tinted work in alkyd and oil that shows the bearded Steeley staring out from in front of a painting of fish — and noted that in many religious paintings there is often a panel behind Mary or Jesus. He said he has spent a lot of time in the medieval section. And looking at his painting, he suddenly noticed, "This is very medieval-like, because the panel is here, and this luminous light is coming from behind, so perhaps it did creep in because I spent so much time in that section."