Popular Stories [Paul Coogan]

Artist Amber Erceg stands figure drawing on its head — If you have not been keeping up with the work of Amber Erceg you should read about her break-out work Dumpster Ballon as a way of fastening your seatbelt for the release of I’d Tap that. Again Ms. Erceg works with photographic “Objets Trouves” (AKA “The Found Object”) but this…

A pattern of things to come? — Maybe not — Reading through the list of Russian oligarchs that have died since the invasion of Ukraine brought visions of the Romanovs. Though sanctions are putting pressure on Russian wealth, the weight of this news begins to fade under closer inspection. Leonid Shulman — January 2022 At age 60, it appears Leonid Shulman committed suicide due to…

A peek inside the boxes — I recently read this article in the Washington Post that sparked my interest on several levels: Art, Finland, International law enforcement, art valuations, the story promised to be a smorgasbord of news right smack in my wheelhouse. That’s where short-form journalism failed me again. Finland seizes Russian artwork worth $46…

After 161 years Sonoma’s Fort Ross becomes the vanguard again — Wait, what? The Russians want the fort back? It’s been 161 years since the Russians sold Fort Ross to John Sutter. 7 years later Sutter would be distracted by the California Gold Rush and nothing really much went on at the settlement in Sonoma until 1909 when it would become…

I was not expecting this when I bought it — The first watch I ever had was a Mickey Mouse watch my grandmother bought me on a trip from San Francisco to Houston via train. It was Union Pacific back then and we waited in the hall while a Black porter converted the cabin from sitting to sleeping. She bought…

A guide for goodness — It was on TikTok I first heard of sending money to Ukrainian citizens by renting an Airbnb without showing up and I thought it was quite clever. I had already donated to a non-profit group to support humanitarian efforts but it seemed so tangible to be able to reach out…

Annexation, invasion, and cultural outcomes — What started as a simple lark to do the What Three Words writing challenge took a surprise turn. I pulled up this picture of a Medieval Revival tower I took while standing on Yrjönkatu in central Helsinki. I picture the oval interior lined with books in an eagle’s nest library…

My Oval Office Rankings — On Presidents’ Day 2017 I reviewed all 44 past and sitting presidents and was rewarded with an interesting perspective. My top-rated presidents at the time (5/5 stars) included: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Barack Obama. Originally, 4 stars went to George…