In the 1970’s, Austrian Artist André Heller had a vision of an amusement park unlike any other. Instead of the traditional fare, Heller envisioned a park that was meant to be an experiential work of art. A place designed by some of the most influential artists of their time, as well as up and coming pop artists that were sure to leave their mark on the world’s zeitgeist.
Amazingly, Heller’s vision was achieved to a certain extent, as the park, called Luna Luna, debuted in Hamburg, Germany, in 1987. In its seven week run, 300,000 people visited Luna Luna and rode a Jean-Michel Basquiat-painted Ferris wheel, walked through a glass maze designed by Roy Lichtenstein that featured music by Philip Glass, and experienced a geodesic dome funhouse designed by the late Salvador Dalí.
Unfortunately, Luna Luna never made its intended trip to the United States for an opening in San Diego. Disagreements between Heller and the people in charge of the American debut led to drawn-out legal action that lasted years, ultimately resulting in Luna Luna being confined to indefinite obscurity in a storage unit.
Fast forward to present times, where Creative Director Michael Goldberg read about Luna Luna and immediately took an interest in salvaging the project. The interest became a reality due to the surprise contribution of music superstar and art aficionado Drake. Dreamcrew, one of Drake’s companies, purchased the 44 shipping containers containing Luna Luna without even seeing what was inside. Instructions were not included–integartor
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After being shipped from Texas to Los Angeles, the shipping containers were finally opened in January 2022, and attractions were painstakingly put together by referencing photos and videos, as there were no instructions present. Now, a newly-restored Luna Luna is set to open later this month in Los Angeles. The valuable nature of these attractions means not all of them will be available to be ridden, but select pieces will be open to walk-throughs by visitors.
In a statement to CBS News, Luna Luna’s Curatorial Director Lumi Tan reflected on what made the park so unique at the intersection of fine art and amusement, “In art sometimes, there’s a shying-away of spectacle, like, it’s supposed to be serious and very intellectual and not so much experiential. At Luna Luna, it was the complete opposite.”
