What to Know
- "Luna Luna" Forgotten Fantasy, a lively look-back at an "art amusement park" that opened in Hamburg in 1987, before shuttering for decades
- 1601 E. 6th Street; tickets are available, on select dates, through late January 2024; the show will be on view through spring 2024
- The show features outsized works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and David Hockney
Like some otherworldly carnival spinning to surreal life in a film or novel, a fanciful "art amusement park" dubbed Luna Luna is again reaching peak luminosity in Los Angeles.
The unlikely experience first flickered to life over 36 years ago in Hamburg, Germany, the colorful and quirky creation of visionary artist André Heller, an imaginative impresario who was eager to fashion fresh ways for the public to interact with art.
Luna Luna, one of the most unconventional playlands ever created, was the memorable result.
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"Fusing an amusement park with an art museum, it featured rides, attractions, interactive installations, games, and performances created by more than 30 of the most acclaimed artists of the day, including Sonia Delauney, Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn, and Roy Lichtenstein," shares the team behind its rollicking resurrection.
Things looked as bright as neon for Luna Luna's future; the acclaimed event was due to hit the road following its 1987 Hamburg engagement.
But "a change in ownership" and a host of legal issues prevented its planet-wide jaunt, and into storage the eye-catching attractions soon went, remaining off-view, at least to the general public, for years.
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No simple shed could hold these colossal artworks; the outlandish attractions were housed in 44 shipping containers based in Texas, with prospects of a revival as temporarily dim as a burned-out marquee bulb.
Now, Haring's figure-laden carousel and Basquiat's bold Ferris wheel, among other playful pieces, are finding fresh life near the Arts District, in a capacious DTLA warehouse.
"Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy" debuted in mid-December 2023, giving guests a tantalizing taste of what festivalgoers first marveled at in Hamburg decades ago.
The showcase is a vibrant exhibit, and while boarding the carousel is not a possibility today, admiring the ethereal and outsized treasures will catapult many visitors back, at least in spirit, to the heady, art-forward days of Hamburg in 1987.
How can you time-travel back to that sylvan spectacular via this indoor realm? Tickets are available, on select dates, through mid-January, but good news: The show will remain on view through spring 2024.
A general admission weekend day ticket is $47, but there are other ticketing tiers available.
