Luna Luna Spaghetti Spaghetti

Kristen visits Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy and makes some sauce!

If there’s one thing that’s true about me and art, it’s this: If the art’s in another country, I’m going to go see it. If the art’s in my hometown, I will know it’s there, and that will be enough. I’ve been to the National Portrait Galleries in Edinburgh and London, but my only experience with our own is the series finale of Scandal. The pattern continues domestically. During a one week trip to New York, I visited enough museums to make my feet bleed. But in the 13 years I actually lived there? Well, I guess I saw The Met way more in When Harry Met Sally than when I lived a train-ride away.

I’m trying to rewire my brain on this. Art isn’t just for vacation, and when you see it on an otherwise unremarkable Friday afternoon, it can make you feel like you’re on vacation. That’s how I felt seeing Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy. 

Once upon a time in the ‘80s, a group of artists, led by Andre Heller, joined forces to create an amusement park in Hamburg. Artists like Hockney, Lichtenstein, Basquiat, Dali, and Haring created attractions that encouraged people of all ages to experience art in a new way. Riding a swing or a carousel, for example. Or… experience a live performance of musical farting.

People flocked to the fair. Then… it disappeared! After the show’s debut, a change of ownership led to Luna Luna getting entangled in litigation. The artworks were essentially lost to time. 

Until now! Thanks to a passion that Heller has held onto for decades–and a massive creative and financial investment from Drake and his company DreamCrew–Luna Luna’s rides were uncovered in shipping containers in Texas of all places! The team has painstakingly restored many of the attractions, with more pieces being added as the exhibit continues. 

We went last week with Sahar and Kyle, not knowing what to expect. From the second I walked in, I felt like I was being dipped in joy. I’ve been putting off writing about it, because I… just really liked it? It’s so much easier for me to write about getting the rigamarole at a witch convention than it is to write about just purely enjoying something lovely that came together thanks to 76-year-old artist’s undying passion and also, you know, Drake.

Tickets are available through March for $30 on weekdays and $47 on weekends. It’s not cheap, but it is cheaper than an international plane ticket to see some other city’s art, so in my opinion, that’s a good value. We also sat outside at a picnic table for ages afterwards gossipping and drinking hot cocoa, and that always ends up being the cherry on top for me. 

And now, something to eat. I know it’s January and for a lot of people that means dry this or whole that, but for my money, there is nothing like making a big pot of meat sauce and freezing it into smaller containers, so you don’t have to worry about cooking when you’re depressed and the sun is setting at 4:30pm. Here’s my sauce that I made on December 23 and only finally just ate the last of tonight. And to be real with you, I’m going to be accurate with the ingredients but I will half-ass the instructions, because I can’t completely remember what I did.

Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 onion

• 2 carrots

• 2 celery stalks

• 1 Tbsp, olive oil

• 2 Tbsp, butter

• 1 pound, sweet Italian sausage (bulk)

• 2 pounds, ground beef (80/20)

• 6 cloves, garlic

• ½ cup, red wine

• 1 28 oz. can, whole San Marzano tomatoes 

• 1 28 oz. can, crushed San Marzano tomatoes

• Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, dried oregano, fennel seeds, basil

• 1 cup, parmesan, grated

Directions:

• Chop the onion, carrots, and celery using a food processor or Vitamix.

• In a non-reactive pot, melt butter with olive oil on Medium.

• Add chopped vegetables with some salt, then cook, stirring, till it feels right spiritually.

• To the pot, add the sausage and beef, browning and stirring along with the vegetables. 

• Mince 6 cloves of garlic and add to the pot. 

• Pour in a ½ cup of whatever wine you need to get rid of.

• Add the whole tomatoes, taking time to squeeze them and break them up in your hand. Get the tomato juice in places you didn’t believe was possible. Add the crushed tomatoes. Let everything cook down together. 

• Add spices: a bit more salt, pepper, dried oregano, fennel seeds, basil, a sprinkle of sugar. I accidentally opened the wrong side of the oregano jar (the one with the big open hole instead of the little holes) and dumped way more than intended. Still, it was delicious, so I don’t think any of these amounts truly matter.

• Simmer for 4 hours. It gets better the longer it cooks.

• Stir in parmesan cheese and adjust seasonings. 

• Serve over pasta or, if you’re Jason, inside a little piece of folded bread, so it’s like a very desperate sloppy joe.