Ben Quilty soundtrack composers in pursuit of ‘ugly beauty’

When composing the soundtrack to the documentary ‘Quilty: Painting The Shadows’, Amanda Brown and Damien Lane went in search of the ‘ugly beauty’ found in Ben Quilty’s work.

Musician/composer Amanda Brown with Australian painter Ben Quilty, with three of Quilty's current artworks exhibited at The Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney,. Picture: Britta Campion

When they began contemplating an approach that would suit the soundtrack to a film about the work of Ben Quilty, composers Amanda Brown and Damien Lane zeroed in on two words that spoke volumes about the artist in question.

“The phrase that really struck a chord with both of us was when Ben’s wife, Kylie Needham, said that there’s an ‘ugly beauty’ to his work,” said Brown. “We wanted the music to try and capture that, too.”

The results of that unusual pursuit are heard in Quilty: Painting The Shadows, a film by director Catherine Hunter that airs on ABC TV on Tuesday (November 19). As co-composers, the two musicians formed a perfect pairing.

“My natural musical inclination is striving to create beauty,” said Brown. “Working with Damien was a very good collaboration because he was able to bring a lot of those quite abrasive, ugly feedback-guitar textures to the tracks that you hear.”

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Hunter’s documentary follows Quilty inside his studio to explore the creative process of the Archibald Prize-winning painter, who is known for his bold brushstrokes and confronting subject matter such as the scarring effects of war on returned servicemen and women.

Having developed a trust with Hunter after working on previous projects, Brown was undaunted by the prospect of being handed an open brief.

“I know the terror of the blank page,” she said with a laugh. “But in this instance, because we only had about three or four weeks – from beginning to delivery – to finish this music, there just wasn’t time to be terrified about it.”

“There’s a certain collegiality and solidarity when you’re working with another composer that’s a bit like being in a band: you support each other, and you are your own team,” said Brown. “I think that makes it a bit easier than the usual solitary screen composer’s modus operandi.”

Given her background in performing with bands such as Brisbane indie pop group The Go-Betweens in the late 1980s, this was familiar territory for Brown, who has been composing for the screen for two decades.

Her score for the ABC TV series The Cult of The Family is nominated for the annual Screen Music Awards – held in Melbourne on Wednesday – and also for the AACTA Awards in early December.

A major retrospective of Quilty’s career, meanwhile, concludes its national tour in Sydney. The exhibition, named Quilty, is being shown at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until February.