Hey, Look at This

Imagine a guy standing on a street corner, holding a painting. “Hey, look at this,” he says to you. You’re astonished by the most beautiful landscape you’ve ever seen. As you start to walk away, he tucks the painting into his overcoat and brandishes an unbelievably gorgeous abstraction. “Hey, look at this,” he says. Before you can ask him where he keeps all these paintings, he produces a breathtaking modernist sculpture from the folds of his coat. “Hey, look at this,” he says. Every time you start to walk away, Art Guy magically produces another astounding work of art. In this parable, Art Guy symbolizes the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (4420 Warwick), and all the amazing art in Art Guy’s overcoat symbolizes the amazing art in the Kemper’s permanent collection, for which there is not enough exhibit space. In order to keep the collection’s masterworks in public rotation, the Kemper’s volunteers (including docents, visitor-services workers and museum assistants) choose their favorite works from the permanent collection for an annual exhibition called Volunteer Voices: Selections From the Collection of the Kemper Museum. This year’s exhibit, which runs through April 25, features work by Leslie Dill, Bruce Nauman and Wayne Thiebaud. Call 816-561-0903 for more information.

Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Starts: Dec. 11. Continues through April 25, 2009