recontextualized 20th century art: Luna Luna and the Birth of the Modern
like a double feature but it's NYC art exhibits :)
It may be 60 degrees outside, but I’ve mentally entered indoor activity season. An art museum or gallery walk is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon solo. It’s off-screen, adds to your step count, and there are scientifically proven mental health benefits to simply viewing art. Three birds with one stone?
Art isn’t supposed to mean the same thing to everyone. I think that’s what people get too hung up on: trying to make sense of it. Sometimes it just means whatever you want it to mean. That being said, I visited two new shows this weekend that might be top contenders for your next free winter day: Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy at the Shed and Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern at the MoMA.
Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy
Good if: you love the wonderful and weird, clowns don’t freak you out, and you’re a kinesthetic processor. A perfect date night excursion that isn’t mini golf or a pre-dinner activity with a friend group. And it’s family-friendly!
Luna Luna is a “long lost art amusement park” featuring esteemed artists like Basquiat, Haring, Hockney, Lichtenstein, and many more. It first opened in 1987 in Hamburg, Germany, with the intent of touring the world. Instead, it was boxed up into shipping containers to sit in Texas for years (cheap storage? who knows). Until Drake reportedly invested $100mil in 2022 to restore the park to its former heyday and bring it back to the masses. That’s when it first landed on my radar. I’m not necessarily a Drake fan, but it’s always cool to see our wealthiest direct resources to arts and culture. More funding for the arts! Lest we only continue to find entertainment in lookalike contests until the end of time.
I almost bought tickets for the LA opening last year and decided against it because of mixed reviews. As fate would have it, I was lucky enough to attend an early preview last night (S/O Valerie!). While the LA venue was outside, the NY venue is very much indoors…at the Shed, a super modern art space. I’m sure this was picked for a number of reasons, winter on the east coast being one of them, but it’s hard not to wonder what Luna Luna would’ve been like outdoors. How do you capture the reverie of a carnival indoors? (Honestly: you can’t.)
So I was skeptical that it would be just another Immersive Van Gogh: commodified art for a society that eats up “experiences” (thank you, Museum of Ice Cream) and at a price tag that makes you question if it’s really worth going. And while some parts of Luna Luna definitely just check off the cool photo op box, there are other parts that really do try to immerse you in the fantasy. My main critique of it moving indoors is that the show is pretty split between two rooms, probably for crowd control and other reasons unbeknownst to me. The first room is pretty similar to your traditional museum exhibit—you’ll find an introductory text, a long timeline of events, behind-the-scenes photos, and original ephemera. I don’t retain such information well when it’s all presented at once, but I do remember learning that Coney Island’s Luna Park started the trend of naming amusement parks Luna. There’s your fun fact of the day!
We heard the second room before seeing it. A swell in music—the intriguing glow beyond a black curtain, with big LUNA LUNA lights illuminating the way. We stepped uncertainly into a different world: dancers amidst a crowd, weaving in and out of sight. 10 foot puppets ambling about. A hand grabs mine to twirl me dizzy alongside a spinning swing ride.
Some of the original work in this room (like a 40 foot Basquiat carousel) is off limits, but there are other additions that you’re very much encouraged to interact with—André Heller’s (the original curator) “Wedding Chapel” was a personal fave. Like any good performance art, what brings this lost fantasy to life is really the people: you as the audience is just as vital as the performers. There are elements that will feel really otherworldly for kids and the kid-at-heart adults. And that’s all I’ll say to keep the magic alive for when you go.
Luna Luna opens to the public on November 20th (tomorrow!) at the Shed. Adult tickets inclusive of fees are $50.1
Lillie P. Bliss and the Birth of the Modern
Good if: you want to put your headphones on and zone out to some beautiful 2D art. Or hold hands wandering around a museum. I like both narratives for us!
People joke about how an artist has to be dead before they’re really considered successful. That feels especially true for boundary-pushing artists who weren’t concerned with being understood in their time. Instead, their legacy lives on beyond their lifetime. Fundamentally, that’s why some people hate on the MoMA, and why I love it and happily pay for my membership.
The Birth of the Modern is essentially the private collection of Bliss, one of the original founders of the MoMA. Did you know the MoMA was created by three women?! Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan were known as “the Ladies”…early patrons of the American arts.
In Bliss’ will, she was specific about what they could do with her gifted donation: which pieces should stay vs. which ones could be sold to help acquire new works. I turned the corner and was surprised to see Starry Night, which is normally on a different floor. (I wouldn’t have been so surprised if I read the full exhibit description first before going, ha.) I like the idea of her legacy and contribution allowed for a continued and evolving investment in the arts beyond her death.
Overall, what I enjoyed about this exhibition is that it wasn’t focused on one specific artist. But the collective artists all clearly had something to say. Each piece was purchased and considered with intention by Bliss, and that’s what ties it all together—her ability to see the promise of artists during her time. That’s obviously not the sole reason for their success, but it’s an interesting retrospective on what constitutes good taste. If someone looked at the objects in my home, would they be able to say the same thing? Food for thought.
You can read more in the official MoMA blurb here. And if you have time for other galleries, I also loved Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, which left me with a new appreciation for B&W photography.
Both of these shows celebrate works from some of the most celebrated 20th century artists: Luna Luna in a dynamic, interpersonal format, and The Birth of the Modern in a more predictable, but digestible one. If art is a response to what’s happening in culture, are we not also simply reflections of the art we respond to?2
Thank you for reading! I don’t consider myself an art expert, but I do think accessibility to art is so important. I co-host monthly art events at pengyou.nyc and am mostly active on IG. I’d love to hear your thoughts—and if you enjoyed this, a like or comment on Substack goes a long way.
You can pay $94 for a fast-pass on the immersive installations…I wouldn’t say that’s really worth it. But there were almost no lines for us.
Thinking about all the Saltburn haters in my DMs…do you think any of them will go see Anora? Three carats!!!
Thank you for reviewing Luna Luna, I've been on the fence about visiting - the immersive exhibit vibes are strong.
And on your point about the MoMa being founded by three women, did you check out the NYPL's "Becoming Bohemia" exhibit? It's tiny but it spotlights some very interesting trailblazers and patron of the arts from the 1910's and 20's - like Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the founder of the Whitney!