Todd Balthazor

Walker Art Center

If you notice a guard at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis suddenly balancing on one foot or striking a yoga pose, it’s probably just Todd Balthazor limbering up. “I’m stretching all the time,” he said. “You have to do that, or else you are going to stiffen up. We have some elderly workers, and they just walk like trees.”

Even when the galleries are packed, Mr. Balthazor, 31, admits to struggling on occasion against monotony. To stay sharp, he developed tricks like memorizing a guest’s outfit or holding his breath “until you almost black out.” He also keeps an eye out for material for his autobiographical comic strip, which the museum publishes online.

In the strip, “It Is What It Is,” Mr. Balthazor frequently aims graphic barbs at museum guests, like the “photo bomber,” who poses in front of large paintings without considering the art. “They look at it like, ‘This is going to be a great backdrop for my Facebook profile,’ ” Mr. Balthazor said.

In another strip, he bemoans having to guard “Ja Ja Ja Ja Ja, Nee Nee Nee Nee Nee,” an audio installation by the German artist Joseph Beuys. “It’s an 11-minute loop of him just going, ‘Ja, ja, ja, nee, nee, nee.’ You can’t even think, unfortunately, when you’re next to that,” he said. “And then you had to stand right next to the speakers because they didn’t want people to actually poke at it with pencils.”

Dynnita Bryant

Philadelphia Museum of Art

“It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work.” Dynnita Bryant heard that refrain repeatedly while laboring to persuade fellow guards at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to form a union.