Poster Richard Nielsen This is Not A Gag

In March 2020, Los Angeles-based artist Richard Nielsen began painting portraits of people in their COVID-19 face masks. On view at MASS MoCA, This is Not a Gag includes his first set of 49 paintings. Presented in a Zoom-like grid, the series shows the determination behind the eyes of artists, writers, and friends of the artist and MASS MoCA. The subject’s faces may be covered, but variations in masks and individual expressions speak volumes about our lives today. These paintings are not about the pandemic, per se, but about the fiercest and finest parts of human nature.

Participants include artists familiar to MASS MoCA such as Nick Cave, Bob Faust, Marcos Ramirez ERRE, Shaun Leonardo, Mary Lum, Kim Faler, and Helga Davis, alongside writers Phong Bui and Charles Schultz, MASS MoCA staff, and Los Angeles artists Lauren Bon, Tristan Duke, Suzanne Lacy, and more. This offset poster measures 19.5 x 44 1/4.