Daily Stream: Bobby T. Luck, Bethel I & Bethel II

In 2015, Columbus artist and filmmaker Bobby T. Luck was the victim of a hate crime that left him with brain damage and impaired cognitive function including memory loss. He turned to a project he'd started a few years earlier, a journal of recollections of his childhood and family relationships, to try to recover some of what he'd lost from the injury. The effort inspired Bethel, a video series that reflects on the comfort and challenges of memory through the artist's trademark medium of collage.

Bethel I screened in The Box in April 2019. Below, you'll find a link to revisit that work and see the continuation of the series, Bethel II. The first installment is a blur of colors and images alongside a partially obscured voiceover that frustrates any listener seeking clarity. In the second video, Luck references cycles of abuse with visuals that maintain a vivid, playful vibe as they serve an issue of dead seriousness.

Here's a 2019 conversation between Luck and Film/Video Studio Curator Jennifer Lange about the series.

Watch Bobby T. Luck's Bethel videos on Vimeo.