Fashion
For the Once-Sinful Luna Luna, It’s Safety at the Shed
The New York version of an art carnival has lost the anarchic charge it was born with almost four decades ago (though a new act may thrill the kids).
Somewhere, in a city of 8 million people, there must be New Yorkers with amazing flatulence and extraordinary sphincter control.
Back in the summer of 1987, in Hamburg, Germany, such talents were found to accompany a violin in “concerts” at Luna Luna, an artist-designed funfair that thrilled the city.
On Nov. 20, a reduced version of that fair opened inside the Shed at Hudson Yards, as a spectacle now called “Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy.” It runs through Jan. 5.
Unfortunately, its original “windy” concert is now present only on a monitor. (It’s not even shown in Smell-O-Vision.) Carnival rides decorated by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf can’t be ridden, not even touched. They come surrounded by stanchions, like precious sculptures in a museum.
In his merry-go-round, Keith Haring switched out the wooden horses of an old carousel for the tumbling figures in his paintings.CreditCredit…Mohamed Sadek for The New York Times
Most of the “fun” has been bleached from this fair, so it feels worthy rather than rowdy, respectful instead of transgressive. Weekend admission for a family of four begins at $198, so thrill-seeking parents might save their pennies for “Wicked.”
