Commonwealth Club: Humanities West Presents A Veiled History of Masks

Humanities West indulges our psychological preference to mask our personalities in public, for all the obvious reasons, by presenting a veiled history of the widespread human cultural affinity for wearing physical masks over our otherwise all-too-revealing faces. Douglas Kenning will take us on a masked tour through the fascinating parallels and commonalities in the masks of ancient Greek tragedy and comedy and the even more subtly evocative masks of traditional Japanese Noh (Nō) theatre. So too Christian medieval ritual, tempting us into a brief glance at the Spanish traditions of Sicily. Ritual masks universalize sorrows we cannot carry alone and the delights that bond us culturally. Amy Branam Armiento will speak on "Masks and Masquerades in Literature." She will discuss the use of masks and masked balls in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Poe's "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado," to name a few famous instances. She will also discuss the role of masks in Carnival and how masquerades arose out of the courtly entertainments of the 16th and 17th centuries. Hugh Leeman will focus on secret societies, storytellers, and rituals that offer access to the spiritual realm, amplifying our horizons as we contemplate masks that introduce an incredible constellation of West African cultures. These transformative works, invested with magical powers, produce profound expressions of sacred social structures. Join us as we encounter beauty, beliefs and controversial “cures” along Africa’s west coast. Then we will put all this veiled knowledge immediately to use by ending our program with a Venetian masked ball, with masks (and even full costumes) highly recommended. With the music of Vivaldi as background, mingle and dance with masked strangers (or friends) as we mask our reality as 21st century San Franciscans and pretend we live in the Most Serene Republic of Venice—and also pretend that that was a better time to be alive. A professional photographer’s skills have been donated to take pictures during the ball, which you can then take home with you as personalized souvenirs to heighten the illusion.