When L.A. artist Carlee Fernandez makes a portrait of someone, she uses amethyst chunks, colored string, coral, hair, and/or photography, or, more specifically, photographs of her holding other photographs. In Man, she portrays the macho men who have influenced her, from the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser—who had an insatiable hankering for spirals and believed that straight lines were the devil’s tools—to her father, to speed-metal king Dave Mustaine. (Platform Gallery, 114 Third Ave S, 323-2808. 6—8 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...