image for illustration: Fairground Carousel ride by Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0
The BBC has reported on newly discovered fairground rides designed by the world’s greatest artists for a single summer, before they disappeared for decades.
The BBC writes:
The attractions were part of the world’s first art funfair – Luna Luna – dreamed up by little-known Austrian creative André Heller in the 1970s, featuring a carousel by Keith Haring, a Ferris wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat and a David Hockney pavilion.
Visitors could wander Roy Lichtenstein’s hall of mirrors and marvel at Salvador Dali’s fun dome…
… Opening in 1987, Luna Luna was a colourful success for three months. Its run was extended twice due to high demand, but while trying to fund a European tour, Heller fell into debt and sold the fair to an American foundation.
There’s one big difference between 1987’s Luna Luna and today’s: Children aren’t allowed on the rides.
Basquiat’s Ferris Wheel and Kenny Scharf’s swing ride are display-only too…
Luna Luna writes:
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. Some called it a ‘fairground of sensations.’ Others dubbed it ‘the museum of the future.’ He named it Luna Luna.
Today, Luna Luna lives on — uniting amusement with the avant-garde to inspire the imagination in everyone…
See more at Luna Luna
