Bel Canto: Contemporary Artists Explore Opera — Site Santa Fe: March 16 to January 5, 2020

Why does [INTELLECTUAL ELITE] go together? Usually a put-down, does a pollster expect when survey respondents say a politician is an ‘intellectual elite’ they are confident in the thinking power of that politician? Or their success as they would about a billionaire? Find a phrase for to slur a politician who like lowbrow culture. What is the up to the moment in time slur for a person with no interests but money?

We think anyone speaking French, like former Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking French being elitist. The most famous Frenchman in America this month is the guy who rode the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby. I wonder what he thinks about visual art? About opera?

What’s wrong with intellectualism, knowing and thinking? Opera and painting? Nothing except when it can only be had by the richest class. That we elected a conning elitist is a problem, and that there is no intellect there. Wasn’t Barack Obama the opposite, with the perfect qualities to be president — intellectual and non-elite.

Is it so hard to like someone who knows something you don’t? Well, maybe it is hard when they have their foot on your neck, as feminists only realized when they had to push so hard against the heavy foot of patriarchy. When the person airing their superior knowledge has power over your future actions, or when that person is wearing a costume to let you know that they have far more money than you will ever have. From whom are we happy to learn something that we don’t know?

The docents at SITE Santa Fe wear tee-shirts. They say ‘how’re you doing?’ And start chatting about the art and point out stuff they like. They’re hanging out in a remodeled old warehouse, anyway, where’s the elitism? hanging out with lots of wild art, all about opera, in what was formerly a run-down, old warehouse. anyway.

And this brings me to the current show —- it’s about Opera. So intellectual elitist. Whatever.

Of course, this is 2019 so Bel Canto: Contemporary Artists Explore Opera, examines themes of race, gender and class within the stories, traditions, architecture, and music of opera.