Multimedia artist André Heller’s 1987 “Luna Luna” exhibit in Hamburg, Germany Park, featuring a combination of artistic movements from Dadaism to Neo-expressionism, has been reborn in Los Angeles as “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy.” Excluding Heller, 30 Artists from around the world— including Salvador Dali, Keith Haring and Jean-Michelle Basqiat— were commissioned to participate in the world’s first art amusement park, according to the “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy” website.
According to the exhibit’s press release, “Luna Luna” originally debuted from June 5 to Aug. 31, 1987, with the intention of bringing art to those who might not conventionally seek it out. Now, a general admission weekend ticket is $47. Occidental Professor of Art History Patricia Yossen said that Los Angeles is a perfect place for this art opportunity.
“We are in a city where we are looking for experiences constantly. We have Hollywood and a lot of creatives. Creativity is something that makes money here. Part of the experience is going to those places and [paying for] a ticket to go,” Yossen said. “It’s not accessible, but I think that is part of why it sells here.”
According to the exhibit’s press release, Heller intended to showcase the park throughout the world, though a change of ownership and litigation issues ended in “Luna Luna” being stored away in Texas. In 2022, rapper Drake’s entertainment company DreamCrew acquired the contents of the original exhibition and re-assembled it to be showcased in December 2023. The exhibit will run until spring 2024.
The beginning of the exhibit is marked by Andre Heller’s Dream Station. The piece is a giant inflatable red igloo topped with colorful pointed spikes and dotted lights. Dream Station, along with The Wedding Chapel, was one of Heller’s two additions to the exhibit. Then, guests walk down a blue-lit hallway surrounded by the instrumentals of Daniel Wohl.
According to the exhibit, Wohl’s three musical compositions play in a “perpetual harmonic cycle,” and were made for and inspired by the art theme park. Afterwards, viewers are instructed by a “Luminary” (museum employee), to watch a 30-second film recounting the exhibit’s history.
The first room of the exhibit is filled with various soundscapes, pulsing lights, twirling carousels and a range of works. According to the exhibit, the space encourages viewers to imagine the park as it once was, enlivened with nearly 300 thousand carnival guests.
Photographs of the original “Luna Luna” experience by Sabrina Sarnitz, including its conception, creation and eventual opening, are scattered throughout the exhibit. The photos display stilt walkers, jugglers and puppeteers wandering throughout the original “Luna Luna” space, as they do today.
Within this cast of characters is Luna, a glittery moon dancing around the works. 33-year-old actress Emily Ferris is one of many actors fulfilling the position.
“The concept is that these characters were locked up in these shipping containers with the art, so [the pieces] are all our friends, and we’re thrilled, not only to be out of these shipping containers but also to see our friends again,” Ferris said.
On a recent Saturday, children mimicked the silly poses and faces of Kenny Scharf’s pop-surrealist cartoon sculptures, and viewers laughed through Manfred Deix’s Palace of Wind, featuring a video alternating between violin music and performers farting into microphones, the screen framed by bare-cheeked figures.
Marty, Julie and Melanie were visitors who had heard about the exhibit through Facebook and word of mouth.
“I’ve been an artist all my life and we’re big David Hockney fans and so we’re excited about it. We enjoyed the immersive Van Gogh experience and [Luna Luna] seemed more three-dimensional,” said Marty.
Christa Bob and Cody McLaughin also attended the exhibit and said that they were drawn there by their dual enthusiasm for art and theme parks.
“[Our favorite part was] the Ferris wheel,” Christa said.
Nestled apart from the art pieces themselves, is a wall detailing events from 1885 to 1989 leading up to the original carnival, including the birth of each artist featured in the exhibit. This detailed chronicle draws cultural, geo-political and formal artistic connections to the creation of the original Luna Luna, including the first Luna Park in Brooklyn 1903, the entirety of WWII and the birth of art pieces, like Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain in 1917.
The gallery also showcases two untouched containers, revealing the fate of the exhibit before “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy,” came to fruition. According to the exhibit, these aspects of the show reinstate the longevity of these pieces and the power they hold in gathering lovers of art and fun, even after 37 years. Ferris said for those working the exhibit, the rich history is not lost on them.
“It feels like a very special thing to be invited into this world and get to support these pieces of art,” Ferris said. “Filling out the playfulness was a founding pillar.”
Contact Shea Salcedo at ssalcedo@oxy.edu and Paige Thomas at pthomas2@oxy.edu
