Rare Sights

Anyone can have a DVD copy of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, a recording of Beethoven’s Fifth and Shakespeare’s complete works. The plastic arts, however, are restricted by ownership. Not everyone can afford a Rembrandt or a Manet. But many who can are generous with their wealth, allowing publishers to photograph cherished paintings and sculptures for glossy books and lending their art to galleries for exhibitions such as Backstage Pass, opening tonight at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (4420 Warwick, 816-753-5784). The retrospective features 60 works from various painters, including de Kooning, Frank Stella and Warhol; sculptors such as Duane Hanson; and photographers Michael Eastman and Neeta Madahar, among others. Half of the works come from private collections; here, they’re paired with works owned by the Kemper. The reception starts at 5:30 p.m. with a talk on the art of collecting by Omaha businessman Phil Schrager. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Sept. 7-Nov. 4, 2007