The creative team, Luna Luna, has transformed a production studio in Los Angeles into a “forgotten” art theme park with pieces by David Hockney, Kenny Scharf, and other artists, as well as a carousel made by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The famous artist André Heller held the inaugural fair in a Hamburg park in 1987.The modern iteration of this event is called Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, and it includes the rides and attractions as part of an exhibit with live acts and interactive elements…
Kenny Scharf’s art is on display at Luna Luna, a refurbished 1987 art theme park located in an L.A. production studio. The top photo was taken by Jeff McLane, and Joshua and Charles White.
The contemporary Luna Luna is located at Ace Mission Studios and is run by a group whose name matches the business they oversee.
A recreation of Heller’s spiky red inflatable dome, which was formerly a cafe, greets visitors to the exhibition as they enter. From there, they go along a corridor that plays a video of the original fair.
Photographed by Jeff McLane, the 1987 edition of the fair in Hamburg, Germany featured works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Kenny Scharf, Sonia Delaunay, and Arik Brauer.
As they go, guests enter two spacious storerooms separated by an artistically designed archway by Sonia Delaunay that features the words “Luna Luna” lighted above them.
Director of spatial design Charles Dorrance-King told Dezeen that the team’s goal for the show was to honor the key elements, the exhilarating atmosphere, and the formal connections between the artwork displayed in Luna Luna’s 1987 Hamburg debut. They also wanted to acknowledge how different the German park with its trees and muck is from the Los Angeles soundstage it currently resides in.
To preserve the essence of ’87, a fresh strategy was required for the display. This was accomplished by utilizing Sonia Delaunay’s archway to connect two warehouses side by side. While the second area tells the story of Luna Luna, the first space celebrates the event’s showiness.
The exhibition included David Hockney’s paintings and featured rides, tents, and other attractions. The picture was taken by Jeff McLane.
The first section is a Kenny Scharf swing ride that has been spray-painted with cartoon outlines, figures, and designs that harken back to the artist’s childhood television viewing.
Among the surrounding artwork is Keith Haring’s carousel, which showcases his well-known line drawings and a self-portrait.
Two warehouse areas host a selection of the antique rides on display during the current show. Included are pieces by Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michael Basquiat. It was captured by Jeff McLane.
People could ride on chairs made out of sculptures of dancers during the 1987 expo.
The rides are still operational today during the festival, but spectators are not permitted to ride them.
Close by is an Arik Brauer carousel, where you can discover a variety of chairs shaped like mythological animals that were allegedly “inspired by his imaginative dreams”. Timna, Brauer’s daughter, wrote and performed a song that will be played during the journey as an added unique touch.
During the show, visitors can observe the attractions; they cannot use them. Photographs of Jean-Michael Basquiat’s artwork taken by Joshua and Charles White.
David Hockney’s Enchanted Tree was situated within a circular pavilion featuring geometrically arranged tree images on the walls.
The next room features a Salvador Dali pavilion, a glass labyrinth with outside panels adorned with Roy Lichtenstein artwork, a bespoke musical composition by Miles Davis called Tutu, and a painted Ferris wheel by the artist.
The coasters were formerly in Texas, but Drake’s DreamCrew recently bought them. They were taken by Jeff McLane and include pieces by Salvador Dali and Roy Lichtenstein.
The arrangement of the GilSing flags on the Dali perimeter of the exhibition, which corresponds with the flags’ original placement in the park, Dorrance-King observed, was taken into mind, as was the mirrored reflection of the Lichtenstein facade, the glowing wheel of the lit Basquiat.
The cream-colored Ferris wheel was painted by Basquiat and adorned with his well-known drawings and phrases that make references to the body, music, and race.
Andre Heller created a wedding chapel that is on display. Originally designed for the 1987 exhibition, this chapel has two abstract figures with a heart in the middle of them. Here, visitors to the exhibition can wed “whatever or whomever” they want.
The hall of mirrors designed by Salvador Dali offers a fascinating interactive experience. captured by Joshua and Charles White in a picture.
According to the group, Heller intended Luna Luna to be a “complete artwork” that combined aspects of performance, visual art, music, theater, design, and circus arts. The park’s design aims to restore public areas for artwork.
When the fair and its associated works were first introduced in Germany in 1987, they were met with legal challenges. Therefore, this ultimately found themselves housed in shipping containers in Texas.
News of Drake’s DreamCrew allegedly investing $100 million or more buying the entire Luna Luna Art and Amusement Park surfaced in 2022, with the aim of restoring the attractions for public usage.
The refurbishment and reconfiguration of the Luna Luna exhibition took over a year.
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