The world’s first art amusement park is resurrected at Hudson Yards in New York.
A fairground that first appeared in 1987 Hamburg, Germany has come back to life and landed in New York City. Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy brings the Luna Luna fairground to The Shed at Hudson Yards, enchanting spectators through a combination of art and amusement park attractions.
Originally, Luna Luna only ran for a few months in the summer of 1987. The amusement park was curated by Austrian artist André Heller who commissioned various artists to design the attractions. It took Heller around a decade to get artists on board with his vision for a new way to present art. As the world’s first art amusement park, Luna Luna aimed to bring art to the general public in a fun and engaging way, allowing people to interact with the work of artists in a way that had never been done before.
The park featured around thirty attractions from some of the most profound artists of the era. Artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat created their own version of traditional amusement park rides. Haring designed a carousel by replacing traditional horses with characters from his iconic line drawings and Basquiat decorated a ferris wheel with his own iconography. Other artists, such as Salvador Dali, took part in the creation of fair pavilions rather than rides. For Luna Luna, Dali created a funhouse with surrealist art elements filled with mirrors all along the interior.
Artists such as Sonia Delaunay, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn and Roy Lichtenstein also participated in Luna and Luna and Heller’s vision of creating accessible and interactive art. Despite plans to have Luna Luna tour around the world, it quickly closed down due to various financial and legal battles. The attractions were dismantled and shipped off to Texas in forty four shipping containers, leading the fairground to become a forgotten fantasy.
Some thirty six years later, the park’s attractions were unearthed and displayed once more in Los Angeles thanks to the media company DreamCrew and an investment of millions of dollars. Now the amusement park has landed in its second city, finding a temporary home at Hudson Yards in the heart of Manhattan.
This historic attraction in New York City makes a point to brand itself as a “spectacular showcase” and an entire immersive experience, rather than an art or museum exhibit in an attempt to respect the principles upon which the original fairground was founded. Its branding is complicated, however, by the fact that major attractions such as the Haring carousel and the Basquiat ferris wheel are view-only. Parts of the showcase feel like a time-capsule you can not touch rather than a recreation of the original amusement park experience. Yet, there are still attractions that are interactive such as Lichtenstein’s Glass Labyrinth and Salvador Dalí’s Dalídom. At The Shed, you may find yourself lost in a labyrinth of glass panes or confused by your reflection in a geodesic dome covered fully by mirrors.
Another interactive aspect of both the original park and showcase at The Shed is a wedding chapel designed by Heller himself. In the original chapel, Heller invited people to marry anyone or anything they wanted. In the year 1987 when marriage was only allowed between a man and a woman, the safe space that Heller created was revolutionary. While 2024 is certainly more progressive, the ability to marry whoever you please is not legally recognized around the world.
“You can be art-obsessed or have never heard of Basquiat, and Luna Luna will put a smile on your face. It’s one of those rare projects that has the power to bring together all walks of life.”
Michael Goldberg, Chief Experience Officer for Luna Luna.
The showing in New York City will include soon to be announced commissions, special performances and concerts. The goal of Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy is to transport visitors to 1987 Hamburg through a curated atmosphere that includes music and performances. To convey the magnitude of the original fairground, the showcase includes archival materials and informative text to educate visitors about the history of Luna Luna and take them through the long restoration process.
The spectacular nature of Luna Luna hopes to enchant all types of people, from art connoisseurs to children and families alike. “You can be art-obsessed or have never heard of Basquiat, and Luna Luna will put a smile on your face. It’s one of those rare projects that has the power to bring together all walks of life” says Michael Goldberg, Chief Experience Officer for Luna Luna.
Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy is at The Shed until February 25, 2025.
Homepage Keith Haring’s painted carousel. © Keith Haring Foundation/licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Inside top image; Roy Lichtenstein, Luna Luna Pavilion. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, 1987, all rights reserved. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC. Middle image Performer in front of Roy Lichtenstein’s Luna Luna Pavilion. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, 1987, all rights reserved. Photo: ©Sabina Sarnitz. Above image; Visitors in line for Jean-Michel Basquait’s painted Ferris wheel. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany 1987. © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat/licensed by Artestar, New York.Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz.
All imagery courtesy of Luna Luna LLC.
