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  • A New Old Mozart?

    Good Morning,

    A flute-and-harp fragment in Mozart’s hand surfaced this week, and the New York Times reports it’s almost certainly real. How is it that we’re still discovering or re-discovering art that was created centuries ago? The big visual art news is that Getty Images just sold access to its library of human-made images to OpenAI (Fast Company), monetizing the archive as raw material for the machines that will compete with it. Granta, meanwhile, has suspended running writing of the Commonwealth prize because it can no longer tell which submissions a person actually wrote — versus a machine (The Guardian).

    And in a move that was a long time in coming, Japan rewrote its copyright law this week so performers finally collect royalties when their recordings play in public (Music Business Worldwide). Copyright everywhere else, pays royalties to “creators” of music — the authors, while the performers got nothing. A very big deal.

    Who says the blockbuster art shows are done? Tate Modern is setting advance-ticket records for Frida Kahlo (The Guardian), suggesting that “the blockbuster is dead” was always a claim about supply, not demand. Against all that, the first AI museum opens asking whether any of it is actually art (New York Post). This is exactly the right question.

    All of our stories below.

    Doug

  • Hit-maker Clive David, 94

    One of the few nonperformers in music to become a household name, Mr. Davis maintained a visible role as a starmaker for half a century. In the late 1960s he propelled a reluctant Columbia headlong into the rock era with acts like Janis Joplin and Blood, Sweat & Tears.  – The New York Times

  • Who Is America’s Great Poet?

    Do we have a great poet who captures the American spirit, the American story, the American identity? We asked a posse of authors and poets to send us their votes. – Plough

  • Is The First AI Museum Really Art?

    The sensory splash, co-founded by artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, showcases four more reality-bending galleries to explore — like the classic “Alice in Wonderland” meets “Avatar” or the trippy, new horror film “Backrooms.”  – New York Post

  • Better than the Met

    Visiting Zurich earlier this week, I was eager to sample the Zurich Opera in Wagner. They are bringing the Ring to Carnegie

  • Honoring Rachmaninoff and Dishonoring Wagner on Lake Lucerne
    Senar

    Switzerland’s idyllic Lake Lucerne, bounded by majestic mountains, was famously the site of two composer’s homes. Sergei Rachmaninoff built

  • The Philosophers Attempting To Explain This Baffling Time

    That must have been revelatory at a time when most people seemed to believe that science was infallible. But expertise has been downgraded—and more people are getting their information from podcasters and influencers. Who could help us understand this shift? – The Atlantic

  • How Billionaires Visit Museums

    As exhibitions become more spectacular, donors expect engagement that goes beyond acknowledgment plaques. Exclusive access has therefore evolved into a sophisticated currency and is increasingly a luxury experience in its own right. – The Times

  • A Monolith Built To Record The End Of Planet Earth

    “The purpose of the device is to provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet, hold accountability for future generations, and inspire urgent action,” the Earth’s Black Box website states. “How the story ends is completely up to us.” – Gizmodo

  • Major Copyright Update: Japan Now Requires Performers Be Paid When Recordings Are Played In Public

    Japan has created a music right that will, for the first time, require performers and record companies to be paid when their recordings are played in public spaces such as cafes, shops, hotels, and gyms. – Music Business Worldwide

  • Nazi Greeting That Preceded the Trump Handshake
    <a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/06/nazi-greeting-that-preceded-the-trump-handshake.html" title="Nazi Greeting That Preceded the Trump Handshake” rel=”nofollow”>The
  • Blockbusters Are Dead? Tell That To Frida Kahlo Fans!

    Tate was unprepared for the scale of demand. The gallery has said more than 41,000 tickets have already been sold for Frida: The Making of an Icon, which opens on 25 June, making it the highest pre-selling exhibition in Tate’s history, surpassing the previous record of 32,000 advance sales for David Hockney in 2017. – The Guardian

  • Granta Says It Will Stop Publishing Prize Winners Over AI Concerns

    “For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships.” – The Guardian

  • Chief Executive Officer – SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young

    SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young seeks a visionary, purpose-driven, and tenacious Chief Executive Officer to lead the organization as it prepares for the planned retirement of its Founder and CEO, Taro Alexander.

    For 25 years, SAY has provided support, advocacy, and life-changing experiences for young people who stutter. This CEO position is a rare opportunity to guide a pioneering national organization into its next era of impact, influence, and sustainability. SAY’s incoming CEO will manage and propel a respected national brand, a powerful community of participants and alumni, an engaged board, and a talented staff.

    The salary for this position begins at $150,000, with an anticipated start date in late 2026. Candidates must be based in the greater New York City region or willing to relocate to it. The role is hybrid. The CEO will work in-person in the NYC office regularly and travel nationally to attend programs, fundraising events, and donor and partner meetings.

    The search is led by Brett Egan and Syrah Gunning of the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management. Learn more and apply at https://tinyurl.com/SAYartsjor.

  • Concern: Paramount/Warner Merger Will Give Company Control Of Decades Of Archives

    Skydance Media, through its acquisition of Paramount, already controls the CBS News archive. If Paramount succeeds in taking over WBD, it will also assume control of the CNN archive, one of the most important in the news and documentary space. – Deadline

  • Kennedy Center Says It Isn’t Required To Book Any Shows

    “The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming,” the lawyers wrote in the filing. – AP News

  • Want To Hear Some Newly Discovered Mozart?

    Here you go: “The works were played publicly for the first time on Sunday at the National Library of France.” – The New York Times

  • Getty Images Made A Big Deal With OpenAI For ChatGPT

    “When you ask ChatGPT a question now, its reply may include a Getty-licensed photograph or image to help illustrate the topic being discussed.” – Fast Company

  • In Los Angeles, LACMA Hosts A Huge Art Parade

    Michael Govan was feeling pretty good about the 600,000 people who came to the block party and parade, too: “We’re not gonna close Wilshire every weekend, but it’s an example of what we can do. … It’s really exciting to see the building work.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)

  • Why Are Romance Audiobooks Surging In Popularity?

    “Romance [is] increasingly shifting from page to ear. This boom — fuelled by pandemic-era isolation and women with sexual agency wanting to multi-task while consuming books that feature guilt-free escapism — is pushing the publishing industry to pursue audio-first strategies.” – CBC

  • Sandra Oh On Finding The Role Of Her Lifetime In Middle Age

    “In the last few years, she has become that rare figure in Hollywood, a famous woman who has only grown more powerful with age, a champion of younger performers and something of a truth-teller in an industry full of people encouraged by flattery to talk absolute rubbish.” – The Guardian (UK)

  • Long Before Motion Capture, Margaret Kerry – Who Has Just Died At 97 – Created Tinkerbell With Her Body And Voice

    “One day she was asked, What would it look like if Tinker Bell landed on a mirror and saw herself? Ms. Kerry thought perhaps she would never have seen her reflection, so she began a preening once-over.” – The New York Times

  • Danny McBride On Men, Masculinity, And The Stories He Creates

    “I’m sure that after the Civil War, people were like, Damn, this is insane right now. If your satire is just about the anxieties of what’s happening today, then you might not be hitting upon a truth that’s universal.” – The New York Times

  • Yes, This Is Toy Story 5, And Yes, It’s Still Devastating For Parents

    Why? Because the toys are – this is not a secret – pretty much a stand-in for parents. And you know what happens to the toys. – Slate

  • Smart Phones Enable An Awful Lot Of Fact-Checking – Sometimes To Our Detriment

    “There is something thrilling about a document dump, and picking through boxes and boxes of government files. We have often associated these habits with conspiracy theorists, … but in the modern era of digitized records, anyone can jump down a rabbit hole anywhere, anytime, even on their phone.” – The Atlantic

  • Mark Singer, Longtime New Yorker Writer And Profile Expert, Has Died At 75

    Singer “extended the magazine’s franchise of rich reporting and witty prose about offbeat, complicated and quintessentially American characters,” including a certain current president. – The New York Times

  • Oh, Bose, What Are You Thinking?

    A speaker company wants to do what now? “What the company is undeniably great at is marketing. But selling mediocre Bluetooth speakers at inflated prices is very different from discovering talent and promoting artists.” – The Verge

  • Basel’s Art Before Art Basel

    For one thing, Basel “is a city of nearly 200,000 residents and nearly 40 museums — or about one museum for every 5,000 locals.” – The New York Times

  • A Musician Points Out Some Racial Disparities In AI Scraping And Use

    SZA on Instagram “If your [sic] a musician and you support this degenerate shit? Your [sic] DISGUSTING and there’s NOTHING YOU COULD EVER SAY TO ME TO MAKE THIS OKAY. … I hope u have the life u deserve.” – Variety

  • Ireland, In The Midst Of A Real Housing Crisis, Is Seeing Huge Cinema Numbers

    Some people think they’re linked (and, after all, what better way to escape the house than to go to the ice-cold cinema?). – Irish Times

  • Can You Pass This British Museum Quiz?

    Sample question: Where was JMW Turner born: – The Guardian (UK)

  • If Hollywood won’t bite, Make it Yourself

    Good Morning,

    Two writers this week set their own terms. Hayley Kiyoko wanted her song “Girls Like Girls” turned into a film; when Hollywood dragged its feet, she just wrote the book first, and the movie followed (The New York Times). Judy Blume, 50 years in, has decided she’s said enough and now runs a bookstore instead (NPR).

    The movie Obsession has grossed $300 million on a $750,000 budget, yet its art director cleared $6,741 for three weeks’ work (The New York Times). The Atlantic, meanwhile, maps the mountain of music quietly pulled into AI training sets that was never “supposed to be free” (The Atlantic).

    With Roku going to Fox, right-leaning owners now sit astride much of what reaches the living-room screen (Salon).

    All of our stories below.

  • Judy Blume, She Says, Has Written Enough

    The author says, “You’re living with [your characters] for months, sometimes years. And you’re locked up in a little room all day with them. That’s why 50 years is enough. I was ready to come out into the world. Now, she owns and runs a bookstore. – NPR

  • Have Movies Doomed Us All?

    Seriously: Movies have “proved to be a tool of dictators, an instrument of propaganda and the weapon of ruthless, unaccountable corporate interests.” – The New York Times

  • With The Roku Sale To Fox, Not To Mention The Paramount Deal, Right-Wing Interests Dominate Streaming

    “The scale of this quiet coup is staggering. … In practical terms, Roku controls the television home screen.” – Salon