Art as measurement

Euan Uglow - Studio set up for Skull 1994-7

Creating 3D digital models of flights means placing precise xyz co-ordinates in virtual space that refer back precisely to real space. Prompted by this process of transcription, but also by recent experiences at life class, I've been looking again at the paintings of Euan Uglow and his mentor William Coldstream. They searched for 'irrefutable data' in image-making and Coldsteam is even described as 'scanning' his subject in relation to a series of horizontal axes (Lampert 2007). Both artists constructed their set-ups using plumb lines and markings to make measurements which were then meticulously transferred to canvas.

There is some discussion of Uglow's process (with illustrations) by Neil Plotkin on the Painting Perceptions blog.

Lampert, C. (2007) Euan Uglow: The Complete Paintings  London: Yale University Press