Devil Mask Society
A leaderless rope collective formed in Los Angeles in 2012 that focuses on rope education through local groups and teaching at conferences. Three of its members opened Devil Mask Studio in January 2024, where the Society’s own rope jam now takes place.
The Devil Mask Society was founded in Los Angeles in 2012. It calls itself an anarchist rope collective with no formal leaders, and has members and friends in other countries. Its stated focus is education grounded in primary sources and first-hand instruction. Members teach at local rope groups and at national and international conferences.
The Cell program. The Society’s best-known project is its Cell program, a cohort-based way of teaching rope. Instead of one instructor with a class, a group of tying pairs works through the curriculum together and learns from each other. From 2014 to 2024, Ojipan and goodmosttimes taught the tying Cell with assistants. It met for two hours once a month over 20 months, in a private home in Downtown Los Angeles. The curriculum worked on three things at once:
- the components that rope patterns are built from
- using those patterns to express an aesthetic
- communication between tying partners
The goal was for students to keep learning on their own, from whomever they chose. The Cell was free, but students had to apply, sit an interview and commit to strict attendance rules. A new cohort started at most once a year. Local teaching of the tying Cell ended in 2024. The eleventh cohort’s classes were broadcast, and the recordings are on the Society’s YouTube channel. The Cell materials are free to reuse with attribution, on condition that adopters do not use the Society or Cell names. The Society lists related programs in Chicago (Second City Kinbaku), Oakland (Oakland Rope Collective) and Portland (Bondage Soup, presented by ROpenspace).
Cell X. The current program, Cell X, is a 12-month curriculum for learning to be tied (see rope bottom). goodmosttimes and Ordinals teach it at Devil Mask Studio, and it is free for accepted applicants.
Community. The Society’s public events include the Devil Mask Society rope jam. It publishes a code of conduct for both teachers and attendees, a consent statement that is read aloud at events, and an overview of racial and gender representation in its programs. In January 2024, three members (Ordinals, Ojipan and goodmosttimes) opened Devil Mask Studio in Downtown Los Angeles.