May Stevens made the ordinary extraordinary. The Santa Fe-based painter devoted her art to political causes, such as civil rights, feminist and antiwar movements. She believed in art as an instrument of progressive politics and personal liberation. Open at SITE Santa Fe, “May Stevens: Mysteries, Politics and Seas of Words” surveys the artist’s career from 1970 to 2010. Stevens died in 2019 at the age of 95. Brandee Caoba and the writer/critic Lucy Lippard, an early champion of feminist art, curated the show. Caoba spent about five years as Stevens’ studio assistant. “She was a firecracker and she had a deep ability for empathy,” Caoba said. “She loved to give voice to the voiceless and the unseen.”