Status: two source-backed candidates prepared for project-operator review; zero
publication actions performed.
The current shortlist is retained in
`artifacts/product-discovery/independent-connection-candidates-latest.json`.
It combines deterministic pattern output with bounded agent-assisted comparison
of four live official API records. Each source has a timestamped SHA-256 receipt.
1. Van Gogh in 1889, across two museums
The Met's Wheat Field with Cypresses and the Art Institute of Chicago's *The
Bedroom* are each dated 1889 and attributed to Vincent van Gogh by their museum
records. The deterministic report separately flags the two different maker IDs
with the same normalized label as a reconciliation candidate.
The public-safe claim is limited to supplied title, year, and maker metadata. It
does not assert simultaneous execution, influence, shared meaning, or novelty.
2. Waves across two centuries
The Met record titles its screen Rough Waves and supplies the tag “Waves.” The
Art Institute record titles its print Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known
as The Great Wave, and supplies the subject title “waves.”
The public-safe claim is limited to those supplied labels. The provider concept
IDs remain distinct; the candidate does not assert influence, shared symbolism,
stylistic descent, cultural equivalence, or scholarly novelty.
Release boundary
Both candidates remain independent research and need an accountable operator
release record before becoming public experiments. Source APIs mark the objects
public domain, but image attribution and reuse must be rechecked at release.
External specialists are optional for the bounded claims above and mandatory if
the story later claims expert validation, novelty, sensitive conclusions,
externally cleared rights, or commercial licensing.