Luna Luna Reincarnated

Would you believe I once scheduled my vacations in the Pines so I could be there when the moon was full?

Apparently, the moon similarly obsessed André Heller, an Austrian conceptual artist who grew up in the shadow of Prater Wien, the amusement park made world-famous by The Third Man.  Heller (below right), invited "pop" artists famous in the 80s--including Kenny Scharf (left) and Keith Haring (center)--to create their own amusement park rides in Hamburg.  Both artists proudly sport the "moon concepts" that Heller commissioned from all the participants.

Here's the Tom standing in front a bank of photos by Sabina Sarnitz (Heller's wife) documenting what Heller called Luna Luna (the word means "moon" in Latin) in the summer of 1987.  We were about to turn 34, not much older than several of the most famous artists whose works have increased exponentially in value.

 

Plans for Luna Luna to travel to Amsterdam and San Diego fell through and the art amusement park was marooned and forgotten on a Texas ranch, packed into 40 shipping crates.  Drake and other private investors "rescued" it two years ago.

Los Angeles residents were the first art lovers in 35 years to experience the reincarnation.  I got so excited when I read about it in the Times that I nearly flew to the West Coast.  Fortunately, now most of the attractions are housed at The Shed in Hudson Yards.  Tom led the way inside the Roy Lichtenstein pavilion.  He loved the Philip Glass soundtrack.

Keith Haring's merry-go-round looks almost as good as new! Like several of the attractions, it revolves periodically but can't be ridden.

Luna Luna had schoolboy elements in its original incarnation.  Cartoonist Manfred Deix painted the a facade for the "Palace of Winds" which featured amplified "performances" of farting classical musicians.

If visitors to Luna Luna in Hamburg needed to use the toilet, they entered through the twin turds of the "Crap Chancellery," which actually emitted steam, hidden inside the pillars. Daniel Spoerri, whose father was murdered by the Nazis, made the connection between food and waste while also lampooning the fascist architecture of Albert Speer.  In a macabre twist, Luna Luna actually stood on the same spot where the city's Jews were forcibly assembled prior to their deportation to Auschwitz and other concentration camps.

Deix included his own caricature in the irreverent moon concept he submitted to Heller.

Until I saw this moon concept, I had completely forgotten about Red Grooms.

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Kenny Scharf

Hubert Aratym

Keith Haring

One wall describes the meticulous process of opening the shipping containers in detail.  Art conservators will be horrified although desert wasps clearly enjoyed some eye-popping accommodations.

I wonder how many venues have exhibition space high enough to accommodate Luna Luna's attractions?  Kenny Scharf's swinging chair ride, Jean Michel Basquiat's ferris wheel, Sonia Delaunay's entrance and David Hockney's "enchanted tree" are pictured in this photo, left to right.

There's a play area for children

. . . and periodic performances when all the rides start moving.

For Jean-Michel Basquiat, the "canvas" always has been immaterial.

Kenny Scharf's often goofy work is instantly recognizable.

David Hockney recycled sets from an opera for his "enchanted tree."  Filled only with the music of Johan and Joseph Strauss, I found its emptiness mystifying.  

Tom had a great time in "Dalidom," the geodesic dome created by you know who.

Arik Brauer died shortly before his surrealistic carousel was resurrected in 2022.  Many of the other artists are long gone.

Here's the Luna Luna logo again, in lights.  At first, I didn't even notice the smiling moons.