DEAR MISS MANNERS: A friend and I have a shared interest in true crime and art. When she recently asked me if I wanted a collage/painting she had made, I said yes, but I was unpleasantly surprised when I received it.
It turned out to be just a canvas with pictures of a murderer on it, and red paint splattered on it to look like blood. It’s honestly creepy; it looks like a shrine to the killer. I’m interested in the psychology behind crime, and have no positive feelings towards killers themselves.
Currently, the canvas is taking up space in my bedroom, not hung up. Would it be terribly rude to get rid of it? One of the things that bothers me most about it is that clearly, very little effort went into it, and it feels like she was just pawning it off on me.
GENTLE READER: Unfortunately, effort is not the only criterion when it comes to evaluating art -- and your friend probably would not take kindly to being accused of lacking it. Miss Manners suggests that you keep the strange painting, displaying it only when your strange friend comes to visit. It might be useful as evidence.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)