Gabriel von Max had a thing for dead and almost-dead women.
The centerpiece of this dark-walled, tomblike solo show is The
Christian Martyr from 1867, a sexually charged portrait of a
crucified woman in the Frye’s collection. Here it’s accompanied by a
pair of headphones, in which Seattle writer Lesley Hazleton, with her
majestically gravelly voice, speaks as the martyr herself, as if
she’s standing right behind you. One minute her tale is sexy, and the
next she’s describing what it’s like to be crucified, how her hair was
torn out, how her lungs collapsed. You’ll never see this
painting again without feeling this salty woman next to you. (Frye
Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, 622-9250. 10 am–5 pm, free.)

Jen Graves (The Stranger’s former arts critic) mostly writes about things you approach with your eyeballs. But she’s also a history nerd interested in anything that needs more talking about, from male...