Luna Parc

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Luna Parc
The main house at Luna Parc as seen in 2018.jpg
Front view of the main house of Luna Parc
Location Sandyston Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Coordinates 41°15′8.316″N74°47′16.62″W / 41.25231000°N 74.7879500°W / 41.25231000; -74.7879500
Established1989
FounderRichard Boscarino
DesignerRichard Boscarino
EtymologyRome park by same name [1] [2] [3]
Operated byRichard Boscarino
Visitors5,226
OpenDuring semi-annual Open House
StatusActive
Luna Parc
Location of Luna Parc

Luna Parc is the semi-private museum, atelier, and private home of 21st century American multimedia artist Richard "Ricky" Boscarino [4] [5] [6] located in Sandyston Township, New Jersey, United States. Twice a year, the museum and atelier are opened to the public for a three-weekday Open House. [3] [4] [7] [8] [9]

Contents

Description

Luna Parc comprises multiple buildings [3] [10] and outdoor art pieces [11] [12] [13] set in an 8.5-acre [14] [15] densely-wooded landscape. [2] These structures are built from metal, clay, glass, [2] [16] wood, rock, [6] ceramic, cement, [17] [18] and ferro-cement. [19] They are designed in a whimsical [3] [15] [16] [20] [21] architectural style, featuring vivid colors, [2] [3] [11] [22] curving surfaces, [5] [11] detailed mosaic tiling, [4] [5] [11] and incorporating unusual objects such as bowling balls [9] [23] and license plates. [23] [24]

The fantastical outdoor appearance of Luna Parc resembles Gaudí's Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain, and the Hundertwasser House in Vienna, Austria, because Boscarino drew inspiration from both these European sites. [2] [16] [19] [20]

The main building is a 5,000 square foot residential house. [15] The interior of this house is a cabinet of curiosities exhibiting thousands of artifacts [2] [3] [4] ranging from the exotic (e.g., Tibetan yak leather pouch) to the absurd (human fallopian tubes floating in a glass vessel). [6] [11] [12] [13] [21] [23] [25] Also on display inside are Boscarino's individual works of art such as his oil paintings [16] [26] and articulated metallic insect jewelry. [18] [22] [27] [28]

Boscarino is also an officer in The Luna Parc Atelier Foundation Inc. [29] The Foundation is a not-for-profit entity registered under US IRC as a 501(c)(3) organization [17] [29] that serves as an art colony and is chartered to teach and provide hands-on training to aspiring artists and apprentice workers. [30] One mission of the Foundation is to ensure the continued existence of Luna Parc as a creative museum. [31] Much of the Foundation's training, events, and fundraising takes place on the grounds of Luna Parc. [4] [9] [32]

Critical reception

Mark Sceurman, co-creator and publisher of History Channel's reality television series Weird U.S. , described Luna Parc in 2014 as "Of all the places we've seen, I think this is the strangest". [23]

Some works exhibited

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References

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