Life Modelling for Euan Uglow
Modelling for Euan Uglow
The name of Euan Uglow, who died last year, was held in reverence by some models, but to others it evoked only pain and resentment. Euan was notorious for keeping some of his female models in excruciating poses for years and he was unforgiving of those who failed him. In the case of at least one member of the Register, it's best to stay off the subject of Euan Uglow altogether. But ELAINE MAFFRETT was obviously made of sterner stuff, judging by this warm account of modelling forThe Pyramid.
I sat for Euan between summer 93 and March 96. The first few weeks werespent sketching but I knew Euan had a definite idea of what image hewanted and very soon I began sitting for what was to becomeThe Pyramid.Like with any pose it initially seemed easy to sustain and one I couldrelax into, but sometimes it would become unbearable.
Each session was three hours long and I would go to his studioin Wandsworth at least once a week - sometimes three. When I sat Euan wouldremark that it took at least 40 minutes for me to settle into the pose andmy knees and back to lower to the correct level. I would aim to sustain thepose for at least 30 minute stints, Euan gave me a small clock that I couldkeep an eye on, tucked away from his view. Then I'd take a break for 5-10 mins,we'd chat and have a cigarette.
At the begining of most sessions I couldn't sit for more than20 mins - but by the last hour I could get up to 45. On a good day! A bad daywas mostly directed by the weather. For Euan much would depend on thelight, from the skylights and a window that looked out onto a brickwall about 12 feet away. This wall would reflect light back into theroom, so the room never seemed directly hit by sunlight, just itseffects. I became very aware of the differences and still recognise certaindays as ones that Euan would find perfect for painting.
For me it was always cold in there, even with a radiatorand a blow heater in extreme circumstances. Remaining still while being nakedwill always make you feel cold unless it's on a sunny beach.... and that wassomething Euan would definitely try to dissuade you from doing. When the summercame he'd find it exasperating when you turned up glowing from the sun andhe dreaded it when I went abroad. As well as being away for a few weeks hiswork wouldn't be able to truly get going again until the tan faded. AlthoughI do think he found the 'tan lines' interesting and how they fittedinto his scheme of measurements.
Another thing worth a note, (along the same lines!) is that he'doften mark, in biro, dots and dashes on my skin, just like you can see in thepicture. I'd then have to keep these marks between sessions, I'd have toask my partner or friend to highlight them each day. Over the three yearssome would disappear and others would come about.
Euan was a fascinating person who I took great pleasure insharing time with. I am not from an artistic background and we came fromcompletely different worlds. During this time I took an Open Universitycourse in Modern Art and felt very priviledged to discuss aspects with him,going off afterwards across the river to The Tate or on to the The Nationalto look at a certain painting he'd have suggested, then chatting about itat the next session. He'd sometimes say that if I'd lived a hundred yearsago it would have been the life of a lady of leisure. I'd correct himand say if I had, I would have been a wench, a pickpocket, a drunk, a domestic....
When he finally said the painting was finished despite beingso thankful it was at last over, I could have almost said "let's do another"just to continue the routine of going to see him, as I knew I wouldn'tget to otherwise. But it was great to be free of the responsibility anda few months after I became pregnant.
I saw Euan at his Exhibition at Browse & Darby a yearlater just after my daughter was born. I have a 10 x 8 b/w photo of thepainting and a colour print - cut out from the Observer's review andarticle about the exhibition. This is proudly framed! I await the day TheTate, or such like, issues a glossy full size poster!! I think a privatecollector probably bought it so sadly I may never see it again.
[Webmaster's request: If anyone has any idea what happened to 'The Pyramid', please email me with the info.]
The Model for Euan Uglow'sArticulation was LISA COLEMAN.
Here are some of her memories of posing for it.
It was the only time I've been a model and I found it fascinating. It wasthe first time I met what I would call a REAL artist, someone obsessedwith their pursuit of... I'm not sure what, capturing some illusive secondin time, which doesn't actually exist. I remember he was working on a smallpainting of a pear, and I could not get my head round what pear he wasactually drawing, because the specimen marked and plumblined was the mostseverely decomposed I had ever seen, and yet he was trying to capture a ripe pear.I quizzed him so much that he gave me the pear for Christmas! I treasure it asa lesson in the concept that he did not paint to produce pictures,but that they were by-products of his quest to capture the perfect fall oflight. It was also very liberating for me as a woman to be naked andyet feel completely comfortable, being viewed in a completely different wayfrom how society normally judges the female form. So it was a uniqueand quite bizarre relationship in my life, travelling to Clapham threedays a week and chatting naked to someone who seemed to see the rest oflife as an unwelcome distraction from his work, someone who I came to consideras a close friend.
