Sawt Falasteen - Fantasy fair featuring Dali, Basquiat returns to life in California

With works designed by prominent 20th-century artists, the resurrected show bills itself as the world's first art amusement park, a one-of-a-kind psychedelic fair.

Luna Luna recently opened its doors in Los Angeles. Its features include a mirrored fun house signed by Salvador Dali, a pavilion from Roy Lichtenstein, an enchanted forest by David Hockney, and a marriage chapel designed by Andre Heller, the Austrian multimedia artist who brought the "Forgotten Fantasy" to life nearly four decades ago.

Heller, an aficionado of traveling fairs and circuses, and with far-flung interests in film, music, theater, sculpture and more, recruited some of the most established names from the last century's art scene as well as some talented newcomers to create Luna Luna: an amusement park designed to make art accessible to ordinary people.

The fair debuted in Hamburg, Germany in 1987, but after drawing thousands of visitors, money ran out, bureaucratic obstacles mounted, and plans for a world tour had to be shelved. Luna Luna ended up being packed away in 44 shipping containers in Texas for the next 35 years.

That's when Drake got involved. The superstar rapper and singer heard about Luna Luna, said he was "blown away" by the concept, and had his music company, DreamCrew, buy and restore the fair's attractions.

Drake and other investors put $100 million into the project, a Luna Luna executive told the New York Times.

Breathtakingly unique pieces emerged from the dusty containers -- like Haring's carousel, in which distinctive figures seem to come to life like colorful dancers, or Basquiat's Ferris wheel, which has a strong social-protest component.

"Just seeing something like this artwork in a carnival form, I've just never seen this before. It definitely was beyond our expectations," said visitor Douglas Hickman, 38, who spent several minutes staring with fascination at the Basquiat Ferris wheel.

"Being an artist myself, I feel like it's just a one-of-a-kind experience."

- 'A time capsule' -

Unlike the fair's original opening in Germany, which took place in an open-air park, this one is set in an enormous warehouse. Dark backgrounds help create a psychedelic or museum-like effect.

Also unlike the German experience, the public will not be able to ride on Luna Luna's attractions, as was originally intended; they are now viewed as relics to be preserved.

Still, thanks to the spinning motion of the rides, an intoxicating play of colorful lights and the meticulous musical curation, visitors feel immersed in a carnival from another time.

"We would love to go on" one of the rides, said Adam Umber, who was with his four-year-old son Elias. "But I think it's fabulous. It's a time capsule and you get to experience something that's as old as '87, but has not been in view" since then.

While rides like the carousel and the Ferris wheel are only for viewing, visitors can immerse themselves in the magic of other attractions -- like the Dali dome, Hockney's enchanted forest or the Heller wedding chapel.

A sign in the chapel, under oversized caricatures of a bride and groom, bears the playful invitation: "Marry a friend or marry a foe; marry a shoe or marry a crow; marry whomever or whatever you wish, be it a bike or be it a fish. For love is love at Luna Luna, even if you love a tuna!"

When Luna Luna opened in Germany, the invitation to "marry whomever" you wish allowed for same-sex couples to do so -- a political act in the 1980s.

Yoori Kim, who came to the Los Angeles fair to celebrate her 35th birthday, took those words to heart and decided to marry... herself.

"I just recently got clean," she said. "So I figured this is a good moment to celebrate my sober life and... the rest of the time I have on this world."

"I feel a little overwhelmed because it's so stimulating," she said.

"The great artists in the 20th century that I never got to meet, I feel like they're living through their artwork right now.

"It's such a good feeling to be in the middle of all that. We need more of this."

"Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy" will be in Los Angeles until the spring of 2024.

H.Nasr--SF-PST