Luna Luna was a hybrid of an open-air museum and a themed amusement park that was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and was open to the public from 4th June to 31st August 1987. Founded by the Austrian artist André Heller, it was a revolutionary project that brought together around 30 avant-garde artists – among them Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Salvador Dalí, David Hockney, Kenny Scharf, Roland Topor, Jean Tinguely and Sonia Delaunay – in order to “create a travelling terrain of modern art that in the centuries-old principle of the fairground involves people of all ages and educational levels in playful acts”.
The theme-exhibition park was scheduled to travel to the Netherlands in 1987 and to the United States in 1988. However, due to various vicissitudes, including a breach of contract lawsuit, its attractions were stored in 44 shipping containers and abandoned on a Texas ranch.
Well, after almost four decades in the shadows, the Luna Luna theme-exhibition park was opened to the public in December 2023 in Los Angeles, USA, thanks to entrepreneur Michael Goldberg and rapper Drake, who invested $100 million in restoring its attractions. Since last November (2024) it has been offering its unique combination of art and fascination, entitled Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, at The Shed, the cultural centre located in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, New York.
By Manolo Barberá, Senior Hydraulic Modeler in Amusement Logic’s Architecture Dept.
Images: LUNA LUNA
