Fantasy Fair Featuring Dali, Basquiat Returns To Life In California
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published December 24, 2023 | 09:40 AM
Los Angeles, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Dec, 2023) Mesmerizing carousels and Ferris wheels designed by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf that spin to music by Miles Davis or Philip Glass -- this is "Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy."
With works designed by prominent 20th-century artists, the resurrected show bills itself as the world's first art amusement park, a one-of-a-kind psychedelic fair.
Luna Luna recently opened its doors in Los Angeles. Its features include a mirrored fun house signed by Salvador Dali, a pavilion from Roy Lichtenstein, an enchanted forest by David Hockney, and a marriage chapel designed by Andre Heller, the Austrian multimedia artist who brought the "Forgotten Fantasy" to life nearly four decades ago.
Heller, an aficionado of traveling fairs and circuses, and with far-flung interests in film, music, theater, sculpture and more, recruited some of the most established Names from the last century's art scene as well as some talented newcomers to create Luna Luna: an amusement park designed to make art accessible to ordinary people.
The fair debuted in Hamburg, Germany in 1987, but after drawing thousands of visitors, money ran out, bureaucratic obstacles mounted, and plans for a world tour had to be shelved. Luna Luna ended up being packed away in 44 shipping containers in Texas for the next 35 years.
That's when Drake got involved. The superstar rapper and singer heard about Luna Luna, said he was "blown away" by the concept, and had his music company, DreamCrew, buy and restore the fair's attractions.
Drake and other investors put $100 million into the project, a Luna Luna executive told the New York Times.
Breathtakingly unique pieces emerged from the dusty containers -- like Haring's carousel, in which distinctive figures seem to come to life like colorful dancers, or Basquiat's Ferris wheel, which has a strong social-protest component.
"Just seeing something like this artwork in a carnival form, I've just never seen this before. It definitely was beyond our expectations," said visitor Douglas Hickman, 38, who spent several minutes staring with fascination at the Basquiat Ferris wheel.
"Being an artist myself, I feel like it's just a one-of-a-kind experience.
"
Unlike the fair's original opening in Germany, which took place in an open-air park, this one is set in an enormous warehouse. Dark backgrounds help create a psychedelic or museum-like effect.
Also unlike the German experience, the public will not be able to ride on Luna Luna's attractions, as was originally intended; they are now viewed as relics to be preserved.
Still, thanks to the spinning motion of the rides, an intoxicating play of colorful lights and the meticulous musical curation, visitors feel immersed in a carnival from another time.
"We would love to go on" one of the rides, said Adam Umber, who was with his four-year-old son Elias. "But I think it's fabulous. It's a time capsule and you get to experience something that's as old as '87, but has not been in view" since then.
While rides like the carousel and the Ferris wheel are only for viewing, visitors can immerse themselves in the magic of other attractions -- like the Dali dome, Hockney's enchanted forest or the Heller wedding chapel.
A sign in the chapel, under oversized caricatures of a bride and groom, bears the playful invitation: "Marry a friend or marry a foe; marry a shoe or marry a crow; marry whomever or whatever you wish, be it a bike or be it a fish. For love is love at Luna Luna, even if you love a tuna!"
When Luna Luna opened in Germany, the invitation to "marry whomever" you wish allowed for same-sex couples to do so -- a political act in the 1980s.
Yoori Kim, who came to the Los Angeles fair to celebrate her 35th birthday, took those words to heart and decided to marry... herself.
"I just recently got clean," she said. "So I figured this is a good moment to celebrate my sober life and... the rest of the time I have on this world."
"I feel a little overwhelmed because it's so stimulating," she said.
"The great artists in the 20th century that I never got to meet, I feel like they're living through their artwork right now.
"It's such a good feeling to be in the middle of all that. We need more of this."
"Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy" will be in Los Angeles until the spring of 2024.
pr/bbk/tjj
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Over 37% Tobacco tax increase suggested to save lives, boost revenue
Mohsin Naqvi has offered a substantial incentive, pledging $100,000 to every pla ..
Citizens join Al Barsha Police in “An Hour for Dubai” Initiative
Art can be a powerful tool to relieve stress, Experts say at Sharjah Children’ ..
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 5 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 05 May 2024
Bugti assures transporters for addressing their problems
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar meets foreign min ..
3 drug peddlers arrested, hashish recovered
1496,990 children given polio drops in five days: DC
Six terrorists killed, hideout busted in N Waziristan IBO: ISPR
Pakistan, Qatar agree to further expand trade, investment ties
More Stories From World
-
Rublev battles past Auger-Aliassime to claim Madrid Open title
6 minutes ago -
Cesar Luis Menotti, football romantic who led Argentina to first World Cup
6 minutes ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
16 minutes ago -
Former Argentina World Cup winning coach Menotti dead at 85 - federation
16 minutes ago -
Leverkusen extend unbeaten run to 48 games with win at Frankfurt
16 minutes ago -
Rejuvenated Liverpool dent Tottenham's Champions League dreams
26 minutes ago
-
Furious Moyes blasts West Ham flops after Chelsea run riot
26 minutes ago -
Teenager turns self in after attack on German politician
26 minutes ago -
Liverpool shatter Spurs' top four bid as Villa eye Champions League
46 minutes ago -
Troubled Milan held by Genoa in front of protesting fans
46 minutes ago -
University convocations in U.S. are flashpoints for protests over Israel's Gaza war: Reports
1 hour ago -
Brazil mounts frantic rescue effort as flooding kills 75
1 hour ago