A framed copy of a screenshot from a London weekly’s website has been valued at up to £7,000 by art experts.
The screenshot shows the headline, photo and caption of the Hampstead & Highgate Express’ online story about a supposed machine gun found at the Primrose Hill home of Turner Prize-nominated artist and film director Sam Taylor-Johnson.
The Ham & High screenshot has since been transferred by the artist on to fine art paper before being framed and entitled ‘No Comment’.
It will now be auctioned for Peace One Day, a charity aimed at promoting education and alternatives to violence around the world.
The gun found in Sam’s home during an armed police raid, which was covered by the Ham & High, was actually a decommissioned rifle which she had intended to turn into a work of art and submit for the charity auction.
However Sam, who is married to actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, chose to submit the framed article to the project instead.
Bonhams auction house has valued the piece at between £5,000 and £7,000.
Harry Shawyer, of Peace One Day, said: “We had an inkling Sam would be submitting something to do with the news story but we weren’t sure.
“It’s a very interesting and humorous piece, different to what all the other artists have submitted.
“Sam has obviously used the Ham&High article to tell the story of what happened.
“It was well received and in the end the whole incident gave the charity a great deal of positive coverage.”
The auction will take place in January.
Come on HTFP.
Is this really a story?
I think most of us have at some time in our careers followed up a tip off about a machine gun being spotted and then photographed in a well-lit basement at the home of a Turner Prize nominated artist and a Hollywood film director living on our patch.
And then the front page of that week’s paper (back in the day) being put into a clip-frame and being auctioned at a swanky charity do as an example of the transient moment captured, and here quite literally framed, thereby posing the literal and yet ironic question, what is art – what IS news?
I know I have.
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Up to £7,000 for that ? Pull the other one, it’s got bells on….
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Onlooker – if you like it (!) I reckon you could make your own for the price of a frame from the nearest charity shop. The “original” is still online at the Ham&High site.
Now it might not be on “fine art paper” like the one above… but who will know? That’s about £6,995 change from the arty price tag.
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