Painted carousel by Keith Haring.
I am over the moon, having just come back from seeing Luna Luna Forgotten Fantasy.
With contributions from an international crew of famous artists, this unique and unconventional art exhibition masquerades as a carnival and incorporates a variety of creative mediums and contemporary art movements.
Irreverent, joyful, cheeky, educative, and entertaining, the show spotlights a happy kaleidoscope of installations, sculpture, performance art, music, and other attractions to enchant the whole family.
Luna Luna first appeared as a real outdoor, artist-created amusement park in the summer of 1987 in Hamburg, Germany. After an initial seven week run, the park was dismantled, stored in 44 shipping containers, and lost somewhere in Texas.
Rediscovered in 2022, the “fairground” has been rescued and reassembled in a warehouse complex in downtown Los Angeles.
Today’s Luna Luna takes the visitor through 60,000 square feet of fun. Works, that cover a variety of contemporary art movements (Abstract Expressionism, Art Brut, Surrealism, Pop Art, Dada, to name a few) sit in two large room that visitors can wander at will. Carousels are deemed too fragile for people to ride, and only some of the installations can be entered with an upgraded (pricy) entrance ticket. Nevertheless, organizers promise the moon, and deliver on the promise by encouraging visitors to feast their eyes, ears and imagination on:
CAROUSELS
Carousel by Arik Brauer.
Painted carousel by Keith Haring.
Painted Ferris wheel envisioned by Jean-Michel Basquiat .
INSTALLATIONS
Inside Salvador Dalí’s geodesic Dalídome.
André Heller’s Wedding Chapel.
Daniel Spoerri’s Crap Chancellery, enhanced by sculptures of poop, mocks Nazi Albert Speer’s “Reich Chancellery.”
PREFORMERS
WHAT ELSE TO KNOW?
Opening days and times vary.
Timed tickets are available HERE. One can enter 15 minutes before stated ticket time and, once inside, can stay as long as desired.
Prices seem sky high, especially for the $85 Moon Pass which gives access to the inside of several installations, opportunity to “marry” in the Wedding Chapel, and a discount at the gift shop. However, ticket prices vary depending on peak and non-peak times.
Signage offers historical and artist information.
Parking is available for a fee.
The exhibit is handicap accessible.
What’s next? Perhaps a global tour. But for now, only once in a blue moon does an art exhibit showcase such festivity. So don’t miss it! Wow—what a ride!
Click HERE for more information.
Entry way to the Luna Luna Forgotten Fantasy art exhibit