NYC's buzziest attraction is a long-lost amusement park
All together, it sounds like the wildest of nonsensical dreams: Whirling inside an avant-garde art world, you zig-zag through a Roy Lichtenstein glass maze while Philip Glass music blasts, then step inside a kaleidoscope of colors in a Salvador Dalí mirrored dome, before bouncing from a boldly colored Keith Haring carousel to a graffitied Jean-Michel Basquiat Ferris wheel.
But once upon a time in 1987, these wacky-meets-whimsical rides—designed by some of the greatest names in contemporary art—actually co-existed at an amusement park in Hamburg, Germany, called Luna Luna.
The pop-up was the brainchild of Viennese multi-hyphenate artist, pop singer, and peace activist André Heller, who invited about 30 of the most out-of-box artists to whack down boundaries even further and design fantastical rides merging the worlds of art and leisure.
A rousing three-month run that summer drew a crowd of 300,000 enthusiastic visitors, and ambitious plans for a world tour were spinning—when suddenly logistical red tape forced the fun and games to go silent. The immersive art pieces were disassembled and packed up into 44 shipping containers, dismissed into corners of storage facilities, including sitting in a Texas desert for about 15 years.
Now thanks to a group of art enthusiasts, as well as Drake—yes, the Canadian rapper!—the lost relics that were collecting dust just a few years ago are finally seeing the light of day, or rather the dramatic lighting of New York City’s most versatile multimedia art space, The Shed, inviting guests into a playful spirit of a time gone by that resonates more than ever today.
Running through the holidays and into February, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy is one part immersive experience and one part museum display, coming together into a celebration of the once-lost theme park's rides that have been meticulously reconstructed by instinct, impressively without any instructions manuals.
Unleashed for the first time in 37 years, there's an intangible pent-up exuberance baked into every bit of the carnival art. It's no surprise that since its November 20 opening, my social media feeds have been stacked with posts and images about Luna Luna, the buzziest exhibit to hit the city all year.
During my much-anticipated visit, I could feel the excitement as soon as I arrived in Hudson Yards since those exiting were chattering away and squealing over their photos, with arms filled with blue shopping bags of souvenirs.
Soon I understood the thrill. The moment I entered, I was immediately pulled into another time and place, as a carousel with Haring’s trademark figures spun in front of me. Wandering through, the stresses of the urban jungle outside the building melted away and I was pulled into a world where imagination and eccentricity run free.
What really struck me was the diverse range of fellow visitors, from retired couples to Gen Z friend groups and families with school-age children, as well as locals and travelers of every kind—and I'm pretty sure I even spotted a famous face among them. This was clearly the place to be, no matter who you are or what your background, there's a commonality we all share when it comes to sinking back into play mode.
With so many highlights during the visit—which takes most guests about 90 minutes to enjoy—here are a few of the most uniquely memorable ...
Perspective Shifts in Roy Lichtenstein’s Glass Maze
One of the first exhibits that greeted me was a labyrinth enclosed in a pavilion decked out in Lichtenstein's trademark pop-art designs, playing with pattern and perspective, in what was simply dubbed Luna Luna Pavilion. To further push perspectives, Heller's team placed 75 glass panels into a haphazard labyrinth, inviting guests to step in and find their way through the maze.
Soon I found myself weaving through the transparent exhibit, hands firmly in front of me to guide the way. Even so, the delightfully disorienting pathways led me to a few dead ends, which turned into wonderful interactions with strangers, who had followed me the wrong way.
Adding to the experience was the soundtrack of Minimalist composer Glass—and yes, Heller did indeed get a kick out of the pun of the musician’s last name matching the glass maze.
Reflective Color Bath with Salvador Dalí
Stepping into the geodesic space was a surreal moment—appropriate for a piece inspired by surreal artist Dalí. Created two years before the Spanish visionary’s death in the midst of his deteriorating health, Dalidom was a collaboration between Dalí’s agent and Heller’s studio, inspired by a similar concept he had created for the New York World’s Fair in 1939.
With endless triangular mirrors encompassing me at wayward angles, every glance at my own reflection was a slight surprise. Adding to the introspection, the light hues rotated through the rainbow, casting different moods and constantly altering the vibe. Enhanced by the simplistic echoing sounds of Gregorian chants plus mermaid paintings on the exterior, it was all together a holistic journey into another dimension.
Witness Love of Every Kind in André Heller’s Chapel
Perhaps the deepest dive into Heller’s eclectic mind is in the theater-meets-visual art Wedding Chapel. Here, a priest of sorts invites visitors in, asking if anyone wants to get married. The chosen two are led to the makeshift altar while other guests fill the pews and are handed jingle bells to cheer on the newlyweds, who walk away with a polaroid of their experience.
Heller’s idea behind it was that “anyone and everyone could marry what and whom they want.” While I witnessed two traditional faux matrimonies, one between a man and woman who had just started dating and another between two women who had been together for years, during the initial 1987 run, a photographer reportedly married their camera and some folks married their pets, in an empowering demonstration that love can be between anyone and anything.
Spins of Whimsy with Jean-Michael Basquiat and Kenny Scharf
While many of the installations do invite guest participation, some of the nearly 40-year-old rides are too fragile and the preservation of their artistry means they understandably can’t handle riders in their delicate state.
But Luna Luna has come up with a delightful way for them to still spin to life. Light and music cues guide visitors to each installation that’s about to start, as they become multimedia shows, metaphorically taking guests on a ride.
That includes Ferris wheel from Black American neo-expressionism artist Jean-Michel Basquiat decked out in social justice graffiti, including commentary on Jim Crow laws. There’s also a cartoonish rotating swing ride from American pop surrealist painter Kenny Scharf, who was inspired by characters from both stone-age The Flintstone and futuristic The Jetsons, contrasting the nascent characters with graffiti techniques. Plus there’s the carousel from Haring, as well as another from Viennese artist Arik Brauer, which pulls together mystical storybook figures.
Close Encounters of the Puppetry Kind
Adding to the fantastical atmosphere is Puerto Rican improv puppetry collective Poncili Creación, created by brothers Pablo and Efrain Del Hierro, which brings to life the spirit of the 1987 carnival.
While the installations capture a time past, the puppets bring guests into the moment, with oversized figures popping in and greeting guests randomly, sometimes with moments of surprise and laughter, other times with lyrical dance movements that both juxtapose and correlate with the kinetic art pieces. Perhaps my favorite moment was getting caught off guard when a towering green monster with a pink ruffled collar snuck up on me and just started just going, “La la la la la!”
There’s also an entire room that’s like a kids playground and filled with soft play pieces, including giant-sized three-toed feet and robot-like blocks, inspired by the puppets’ style, inviting visitors to play creatively, and of course pose for plenty of photos.
Fluttering Above at the Butterfly Bar
Before exiting into modern realities, I went one floor up to the Level 4 outlook’s pop-up Luna Luna Butterfly Bar, which offers carnival-themed fare, like cotton candy, popcorn, and hot dogs, as well as an ode to its European roots with giant German pretzels.
From here, the aerial view of the exhibit provides yet another perspective, gazing in at the other visitors below enjoying the funhouse of installations. Somehow being removed now and gazing in, it’s like a glimpse into the past of what once was—but also what it’s become again. And it begs the question: What other great art is out there, lost for the world to discover again?