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Scott Goldfarb Theater of Witness Response

Steal the Stars and the Moon

Bear Witness
The artist employed the strategy of bearing witness to the prisoners through the work done to share Benedykt's story. According to the principle, to bear witness is to join in the suffering of the individual or group, and just simply listen. There is also a larger concept to it, regarding sharing someones story of which they can not share. This was done when the inmate Benedykt could not share his story. His crime was too high profile for him to feel comfortable sharing, so the interviewer and another Benedykts cellmate came together to figure out how to work this out. His cellmate shared the story of Benedykt in a performance of his own, so that Benedykt did no have to deal with any negative images, while more importantly telling the story of his crime which was important to share.

Hold the Paradox
This strategy was seen also through Benedykt's story. Here is a man who murdered his family, yet the interviewer is to hold his story personally and also has come to like the man in their interactions together in the interview. The interviewer mentions the dilemma of this and how they started mentally questioning the man, questioning his morality, the interviewers own morality, and the impossibility of holding the concept of love towards this man and the ethics around his actions. It is not explicitly said what the interviewer does, but more so just left open as if to say that the impossibility of it was just ignored and that it exists as it is.

Deeply Listen with the Eyes of Your Heart
This strategy directly coincides with the strategy mentioned before and also the dilemma the interviewer faced. On a larger scale, the interviewer met with mostly drug users and thieves, but the only person that they met who caused physical harm had murdered his wife, daughter, and mother in law. As previously mentioned, the interviewer struggled with morality of these actions, however they listened to his story. Despite the fact that a man who had committed a terrible crime was opening up to them about the crime, they listened with an open mind and heart. They mentioned that listening to the story that Benedykt shared, along with the stories of the other men, led the interviewer find comfort in the stories told. Finishing the act of listening to these stories led the interview to the conclusion that they can trust their own capacity to listen and to be witness to these acts committed.


How does the interview reconcile the paradox found?

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