Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy lands in New York

Michael Goldberg talks Phaidon through the latest incarnation of the 1987 art amusement park that features works by Basqiat, Haring, and Hockney.

In the summer of 1987 Luna Luna landed in Hamburg, Germany: the world’s first art amusement park with rides, games, and attractions by artists and visionaries such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and David Hockney.

Luna Luna was the brainchild of Austrian multimedia artist André Heller — a poet and singer known in Europe for his hot air balloon sculptures, acrobatic circuses, and firework spectacles above the Berlin Wall.

Luna Luna visitors could ride a Ferris wheel adorned with drawings by Jean-Michel Basquiat or walk hand-in-hand inside a cylindrical pavilion created by David Hockney. They could find their way through Roy Lichtenstein's glass labyrinth, while listening to music by Philip Glass, or climb aboard a carousel covered in graffiti figures painted by Keith Haring.

Such fun was not to last however, and by a cruel twist of financial fate, the park’s creations were soon sealed in 44 shipping containers in Texas where they remained for 36 long years. Earlier this year, thanks to the rapper Drake, and Michael Goldberg’s Something Special Studios*, Luna Luna was revived in Los Angeles.

The history of the fair is told in our book Luna Luna, written in conjunction with André Heller. Opening this month (November 2024), in The Shed, New York, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy unravels the tale of this most fantastical fairground. You can buy tickets here.

We caught up with Michael Goldberg the founder of Something Special Studios* - the company staging Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, during rehearsals to hear how he discovered Luna Luna, the journey it took him on, what we can expect from the new show, and all about an original exhibit that still hits him in the heart today.

Keith Haring photo © Sabina Sarnitz

Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy ran in LA earlier this year, is it any easier to stage a production as ambitious as this second time around or are there a new set of challenges to consider? The first time was uniquely challenging in that it not only was the first time we were putting together this show, but it was the first time we had even seen some of the works fully constructed. For example, the ceiling height in our studio space in LA didn't allow us to construct the Basquiat all the way up. Naturally, when you go to do it a second time, there are some big learnings you can draw upon.

There were things that worked really well in LA which we tried to not touch. The timeline, for example, that weaves together the backstory how Luna Luna came to be, but also how somebody would even be inspired to create such an idea.

It really starts in1885 with the birth of Sonia Delaunay, but then it touches on the history of amusement parks and Luna Parks emerging and spreading throughout the globe and the development of things like vaudeville and even the effects of two World Wars; all of which basically sets the stage for a grey and cloudy Vienna that ultimately inspired André Heller to want to go out and create something like Luna Luna.

Jean-Michel Basquiat designs his Ferris wheel. © Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat/licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

What are the things that make Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy site-specific to New York as opposed to LA? One of the biggest things is actually the influence that New York had, or I should say that the artists who lived in New York had, on Luna Luna. In one of the opening sections of the show we have a big moment for Sabina Sarnitz's photo archive that really shows, the sequence of André Heller recruiting all of these artists, and then the eventual development of the works, and then the installation and activation of these works at Luna Luna.

He went to Salvador Dali and Sonia Delaunay first, but right after that, once he secured the money, he started off on this world tour to recruit artists. The first stop was New York where Andy Warhol really helped with his credibility and in making introductions. Andy connected him to Roy Lichtenstein. Roy Lichtenstein said, ‘you’ve got to go meet with David Hockney in LA’. Before he flew out to go to LA, he ended up connecting with Keith Haring. Keith Haring said he ought to meet his friend Kenny Scharf. Then André, I believe, brought up Basquiat to Kenny Scharf. Kenny said, ‘yeah, I know him. I'll bring you to him right now.’

It was this core group of artists, who were all living and working in New York at that time, that ultimately came to be the artist roster for Luna Luna.

David Hockney works on his Enchanted Tree model. Los Angeles, California, 1986. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

How did you feel when you started uncovering all of these strands and how they linked together? It must have been an incredible journey – both historical and emotional? A hundred percent. In the beginning there was basically just one article on the Internet. Then I bought the original catalogue, which was, in German, and then started to buy any random ephemera that I could get my hands on or find on eBay and various websites. But it wasn't really until building a closer rapport with André that I started to get some of the backstory and the oral history as to how this project came to be.

Sabina's photo archive was a huge part of telling the story and allowing us to follow the sequence, the chain of events, including all the studio visits, that led to subsequent artist meetings. It was really a case of piecing things together through the photo documentation. It's a project I've been working on and chasing down since 2019, and it's something that I still learn from and get new information about, every day that I work on it. It keeps on giving in that way.

Photo Brian Ferry courtesy of Luna Luna

Did any of the original attendees of the of the 1987 Hamburg version visit the LA iteration or will they come to the New York one? I personally got the opportunity to speak to several people we tracked down who went to the original show. We put out ads in local Hamburg newspapers and posted on Facebook and Instagram, asking to hear from anyone who had attended.

Before opening in LA, we got in contact with some of the performers, and we came into contact with somebody who got married at André Heller's wedding chapel. He told us a story of how he took this woman out on a date, and he was really into art, but she wasn't into art, so he thought Luna Luna would be like the perfect middle ground. Under ‘the laws’ of Luna Luna, they're still married because he still has the certificate.

On one of the very first days that we opened in LA, I was walking around and somebody connected me with this woman who was saying that she had this idea of remembering Luna Luna but couldn't find anything written about it. For years, she had been questioning her own memory. And then about five years ago, she found this diary in which she had written all about her experiences at Luna Luna. A couple of years after that, she saw that we had announced the project, and she said that it was a huge unlocking of her own memories and being validated.

Photo Brian Ferry courtesy of Luna Luna

You've obviously created a lot of very different live events. How does Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy differ from putting on other live events in the city? Luna Luna is so unique in that it's not a painting that you get some art handlers to install on a wall. You really need specialists in a variety of fields to set up and install the show. It's something that we've gained so much knowledge on as a company, in terms of going through the process of figuring out how to reassemble all of these works.

Ultimately, one of the biggest challenges is mechanical - how to get them to run again. Some of these ‘works’ are almost 100 years old. The “Basquiat” is from the 1930s, the “Kenny Scharf” is from the 1940s. It's not only about building them back up but getting them to mechanically run, and to be shown in the way that they were originally shown in 1987. In order to do that, you need a team of experts used to dealing with art but from a mechanical standpoint. There's no precedent. You can’t hire someone that did a similar thing a couple of months ago. Everyone that comes into this project is really doing this for the first time, which is what makes it such a special one, and so unique.

Photo Brian Ferry courtesy of Luna Luna

As a creative director, what do you have to think about when you're juggling so many single and multi-dimensional elements into something that is not only three dimensional, but also interactive. It’s almost like transforming a painting into a mechanical, moving sculpture. It's a big balancing act. One of André's main themes and one of the main purposes of the show, and of his work in general, was all about bringing art to a wider audience. With Luna Luna Forgotten Fantasy, we want to ensure that we're creating an experience that if you don't know who Keith Haring is or who Jean-Michel Basquiat is, you're still going to be able to come and enjoy the show, and to be able to understand it, to engage in it and feel like it is for you.

Art can sometimes feel exclusive in a way and one of our goals is to ensure that this is a space that's welcoming for people who have varied understandings of these artists. They're going to have some fun and enjoy themselves. Ultimately this is going to feel a bit different than the typical exhibition or show. It's a big balancing act. You want to make sure that you're not excluding or turning off the people in the art world that typically attend these types of events.

It's finding that balance of ensuring we are providing enough information for people outside of our world, while also not watering down the experience, and also ensuring that we're finding the balance of storytelling while also leading into the experience side of Luna Luna and making sure that people get to let loose and have some fun, as opposed to just reading a text on a wall. Every moment is gone through to ensure we're creating the best experience possible.

Roy Lichtenstein, Luna Luna Pavilion. Luna Luna, Hamburg, Germany, 1987. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, 1987, all rights reserved. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

What are your favourite elements from both the original, and the new productions? Two of the works stand out to me from the original iteration. One of them is André Heller's wedding chapel because of the significance and role it played at that time, while also still having a purpose today. In 1987, Hamburg, Germany, the wall was still up in Berlin, and it was not a place that people could freely get married to whoever they wanted.

He basically set it up as a place of freedom for people to come in and get married to whoever they wanted, no judgment whatsoever, only encouragement. That's magical, and it's still magical today, especially as we face the things we're facing since the election; a place that allows people to be free and to enjoy themselves and become as they are and being able to celebrate that.

Aerial view of Luna Luna in Moorweide park. Hamburg, Germany, 1987. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

Another work I love is Daniel Spoerri's public bathroom, Crap Chancellery. Spoerri passed away last week, unfortunately, but the reason why I call that one out is just the cleverness of the work. He basically created a facade for a public bathroom and the facade was inspired by Albert Speer, Hitler’s architect. Spoerri's father was killed in the Holocaust, so it was a middle finger to the establishment, with these pedestals of poop sitting out front.

And the part in New York that I couldn't be more excited about is the addition of this incredible duo called Poncili Creación, who have created this wildly imaginative cast of characters inspired by the original performers Luna Luna, combined with their visual language and practice.

Those characters are going to be roaming throughout the show. We just felt that they were so connected to the mischievous spirit of the original performers who really played off of the crowd. They do a great job of creating these visceral performances that really play off of the audience and the space. We felt that they would be the perfect addition to the performance part of this show.

The space and the overall show flows really beautifully. It leans into storytelling in the beginning and then lets people really experience the magic of Luna Luna as they make their way through the space.

Kenny Scharf signs his painted chair swing ride. © Kenny Scharf. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: © Sabina Sarnitz. Courtesy Luna Luna, LLC

Where will the show head to after New York? Great question. We're in rehearsals this week and I’m really excited to see where it's landed and I’m looking forward to continuing to iterate on the show. We're looking forward to continuously expand, which is how we go about curating these editions.

We're definitely planning to bring Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy on global tour. I would imagine there's a chance that we do one or two more cities in North America before heading overseas. We're focused right now on New York, but that definitely is our ambition.

Buy tickets for the show here. And if you can't get to the show, or if you do and want to feind out more, buy the book here.