In a somewhat surprising move, Drake and his team are resurrecting a long-dormant piece of 1980s art history. The rapper is bringing back Luna Luna, which, if you're like me and had never heard of it before, was "the world's first art amusement park," a functioning fairground designed by a slew of influential artists.
The new Luna Luna website offers this explainer:
In the summer of 1987, a fantastical fairground unlike any ever witnessed landed in Hamburg, Germany. Artist and curator André Heller invited over thirty renowned visionaries — including Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Sonia Delaunay — to design rides, games, and attractions into one extravaganza for all to enjoy.
Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Rebecca Horn also contributed to the park, with Haring designing a carousel (of which you can see footage on the Luna Luna site). As outlined by the Los Angeles Times, other contributions included "an enchanted forest, for instance, crafted by David Hockney, or a Ferris wheel envisioned by Jean-Michel Basquiat, where the whimsical contrasts with violent images of an exploding house and stark phrases of racial inequality, all placed like graffiti in haste."
The Times report continues, explaining that after its initial 1987 run in Hamburg, Luna Luna was set to reopen in San Diego in the early '90s but was stalled by bureaucracy and a lack of funds — the project all but disappeared after that.
Until recently, the Luna Luna attractions were being stored two hours north of Texas, but were bought last year by Drake and his entertainment firm DreamCrew. They're planning to resurrect the attractions in a warehouse space on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles next year.
"Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy" will run through the spring of 2024, though attendees won't actually be able to go on the rides, for both preservation reasons and because I'm assuming they're not exactly up to code.
The new Luna Luna website offers this explainer:
In the summer of 1987, a fantastical fairground unlike any ever witnessed landed in Hamburg, Germany. Artist and curator André Heller invited over thirty renowned visionaries — including Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Sonia Delaunay — to design rides, games, and attractions into one extravaganza for all to enjoy.
Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and Rebecca Horn also contributed to the park, with Haring designing a carousel (of which you can see footage on the Luna Luna site). As outlined by the Los Angeles Times, other contributions included "an enchanted forest, for instance, crafted by David Hockney, or a Ferris wheel envisioned by Jean-Michel Basquiat, where the whimsical contrasts with violent images of an exploding house and stark phrases of racial inequality, all placed like graffiti in haste."
The Times report continues, explaining that after its initial 1987 run in Hamburg, Luna Luna was set to reopen in San Diego in the early '90s but was stalled by bureaucracy and a lack of funds — the project all but disappeared after that.
Until recently, the Luna Luna attractions were being stored two hours north of Texas, but were bought last year by Drake and his entertainment firm DreamCrew. They're planning to resurrect the attractions in a warehouse space on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles next year.
"Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy" will run through the spring of 2024, though attendees won't actually be able to go on the rides, for both preservation reasons and because I'm assuming they're not exactly up to code.
