Rodricks: A Baltimore artist captures the toll of gun violence around us

I thank a Baltimore Sun reader who goes by the pseudonym of Curious George for telling me about a certain work of art hanging in a gallery near Patterson Park. But I’m afraid it’s not as “controversial” as he might think. “Is the artwork riddled with bullet holes a problem?” Curious George asked in an email with “controversy” in its subject line. Obviously wise to the notion that controversy provides superb material for newspapers, George suggested that I visit the Creative Alliance and have a look. So, I headed to that good gathering place on Saturday, driving and walking through the busy and thriving neighborhoods of a city that too many other correspondents believe to be hell on Earth — so dysfunctional, violent and corrupt as to make a trip here impossibly risky.