Fishers of Men
Storytelling and Percussion
Artist Statement
Elena: For this piece, I took inspiration from the Jewish tradition of Midrash Aggadah, which interprets biblical narrative in an exploration of ethical and theological issues. I chose a scene from John’s Gospel focused on a communal meal with a climactic scene of reconciliation and a call to service, apropos for the theme of synodality. My sketch of Peter and Jesus is that of student and teacher, one with an unripe understanding of his role in the community and the other with deep insight into human nature. I went through several drafts to reach the right tenor of sensitivity and subtlety, so as not to provoke combative responses from my listeners. I wanted to bring forth fruitful discussion about what leadership looks like in the kingdom of God, as well as the role of women in the Church.
Joe: One night at dinner, I turned on the recorder on my phone and began exploring the sounds of our kitchen table. As I was doing this, I asked Elena to tell me a story. This gave birth to the idea that we could collaborate in our respective creative mediums to contribute our voices to the Art & Synodality initiative. After a few explorations, we settled upon this story, with Elena doing all the writing. When we set up our recording studio for voice and percussion, we set up two tables and filled them with instruments and sticks we thought would speak to the moments of the story. I improvised the accompaniment while Elena performed her story. After each take, we discussed what worked and narrowed my palette. The music speaks primarily to the pace and emotional tenor of each passage in the story, maintaining the primacy of storytelling in this collaboration.
About the Artist
Elena Beribak was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She’s lived in the greater Chicagoland area for 23 years, minus a 4-year stint in Galesburg, Illinois to attend Knox College. There, she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 2018. Ever since she can remember she’s been a story lover and a storyteller. She grew up with such Disney classics as The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as books of fairytales, folktales, and myths from around the world. She spent her free time growing up reading, writing, making art, and dancing. As a philosophy major, she was drawn particularly to Plato’s dialogues, Søren Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous works, and Nietzche’s poetic and prophetic philosophical diatribes. She was and continues to be interested in mysticism across all the world’s religions, particularly the connection between Vedanta and Catholic mysticism as explored by Father Bede Griffiths and his compatriots. Elena currently lives in DeKalb, Illinois with her husband Joe Beribak, collaborating on musical storytelling projects with him, writing, and getting deep into her yoga practice and herbalism studies.