A RESSURECTED CARNIVAL
By
Montserrat Mendez
The Shed, NYC
Montserrat Mendez
The Shed, NYC
Montserrat Mendez, Alisha Spielmann and Heather Cunningham. An Evening at Luna Luna.
February 20th, 2025.
We arrived at Luna Luna on the coldest day of my winter, The winter where I had lost the most. The winter when someone stole my work with a signature. But it was a signature that also liberated me.
|
The icy wind biting at my skin, the world around us still and heavy. It had been a long time coming, this day. We had planned it with the quiet anticipation of those who know that something transformative waits just beyond the horizon.
|
Walking into Luna Luna, was as if we had entered into a dream, but not the dream of an idyllic world or some faraway utopia. No, this was something else:
A world where art was no longer confined to sterile gallery walls, where it was not a commodity to be consumed by the privileged few, but a living, breathing entity that defied convention. Luna Luna was not just an exhibition; it was a declaration. It was a defiance of all the ways we have been taught to separate ourselves from art, to place it on some pedestal above our reach. It told us, with quiet insistence, that art is for everyone, even when the world insists it is not.
The Ferris wheel stood before us!
Basquiat’s Ferris wheel, towering and bold. Its white gondolas, scarred with black glyphs, seemed to speak not just of the chaos of the artist’s own soul but of a nation, a world teetering between slapstick humor and profound sorrow. The symbols!
strange, vivid, sharp!
Reminded us that creation is not a pure, untainted thing. It is messy, it is angry, it is a rebellion and a reckoning all at once.
The figure drawn by Basquiat, arms raised high, struck me deeply. Triumph or despair? It was hard to tell. But isn't that what all art is—a refusal to be silenced in a world that would rather you remain quiet? A protest against the world’s indifference?
We moved through the exhibition, each step muffled by the thick black carpet, our faces illuminated by the calculated lighting that made everything seem so deliberate, so set apart. And yet, despite the distance between us and the art, there was a palpable sense of intimacy, a connection that could not be broken by walls or ropes.
Keith Haring’s carousel
so full of life, so bright
left Heather in tears.
The carousel stood apart from everything else, isolated in its own sphere, but still it pulsed with the energy of its creator, a creator who had always intended for his art to be alive, even in a world that seemed determined to suffocate it.
There was so much to see, and feel, that I can't even describe it all. We were all caught up in the moment. Living second to second.
And then, the thought that gnawed at me: How could this carnival, this art, have been locked away for so long? For nearly forty years, it had been forgotten, buried in a shipyard, collecting dust.
But, art, sometimes it isn't lost. It was only waiting, waiting to be uncovered, to rise again. It was a lesson, a call to all of us. Create. Even when it feels impossible. Create, even when the world does not want to hear you. Create, because someday, someone will find your work, and it will speak to them in ways you could not have imagined.
We left Luna Luna with our minds spinning the colors and lights lingering like a dream half-remembered. But the journey of Luna Luna
from its debut in Hamburg in 1987 to its resurrection in Los Angeles, and its journey to New York City, was not just a testament to the resilience of art.
It was a metaphor for the struggle we all face when we try to create in a world that seems to have lost its way. It was a reminder that creation is fragile, that democracy itself is fragile, that the ideals we hold dear are always at risk of being buried under the weight of greed and indifference.
When we set out for Luna Luna, we expected a day of whimsy, of art that was light and playful. And yes, we found that!!!
But we found something more, something deeper. We found a call to action: Create, even when the world turns away from you. Create, because creation is not just about expression. It is a declaration of resistance. We must paint our glyphs of chaos, carve our candy-coated dreams, build our mirrors to the absurd. We must create not because it is easy, not because it is fashionable, but because it is essential.
Someday, someone will unearth your work. It will not be forgotten. It will not be buried forever. They will see not just the art you created, but the ideals you believed in, the hope you held, the vision of a world where joy and justice were not lost but waiting to be found. This is the greatest rebellion we can offer. In the face of despair, we must create. In the face of silence, we must speak. And even when the world tries to bury us, we will rise.
And the time to rise is right now, for if we do not, we will be buried beneath the weight of silence, our voices stifled, our humanity erased, and our art forgotten, left to rot in the dark corners of a world too blind to see its worth.
So rise, rise now, before we are lost, before our stories are stolen and rewritten by those who weaponize faith to dismantle our souls, for the time to speak is here, and if we do not, we will be buried, discarded, or forgotten entirely.
Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy was a resurrection, a riotous dream unearthed after 36 years in the shadows. Originally conceived in 1987 by artist André Heller as a dazzling fairground of artistic wonder, this carnival of creativity was lost to time, its treasures locked away in storage. But from December 2023 to March 16, 2025, Luna Luna was reborn, transforming The Shed into an electrifying world where art and amusement collided.
From Jean-Michel Basquiat’s rebellious glyphs to Keith Haring’s pulsating carousel, from Salvador Dalí’s surreal spectacles to Roy Lichtenstein’s bold geometries, Luna Luna invited visitors to revel in a once-forgotten utopia of color, chaos, and joy. Installed in the soaring McCourt space and Level 2 Gallery of The Shed NYC, this landmark exhibition featured legendary artists, special activations, and an atmosphere of wonder.
Now, as its doors close once again, Luna Luna leaves behind a legacy and a reminder that art, no matter how long buried, will always find a way to rise.
From Jean-Michel Basquiat’s rebellious glyphs to Keith Haring’s pulsating carousel, from Salvador Dalí’s surreal spectacles to Roy Lichtenstein’s bold geometries, Luna Luna invited visitors to revel in a once-forgotten utopia of color, chaos, and joy. Installed in the soaring McCourt space and Level 2 Gallery of The Shed NYC, this landmark exhibition featured legendary artists, special activations, and an atmosphere of wonder.
Now, as its doors close once again, Luna Luna leaves behind a legacy and a reminder that art, no matter how long buried, will always find a way to rise.
