Luna Parc is the semi-private museum, atelier, and private home of 21st century American multimedia artist Richard "Ricky" Boscarino 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.

Description

Luna Parc comprises multiple buildings and outdoor art pieces set in an 8.5-acre densely-wooded

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

. These structures are built from metal, clay, glass, wood, rock, ceramic, cement, and ferro-cement. They are designed in a whimsical

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

style, featuring vivid colors, curving surfaces, detailed mosaic tiling, and incorporating unusual objects such as bowling balls and license plates. 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. The main building is a 5,000 square foot

residential house A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These includ ...

. The interior of this house is a cabinet of curiosities exhibiting thousands of artifacts ranging from the exotic (e.g., Tibetan

yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...

leather pouch) to the absurd (human

fallopian tube The fallopian tubes, also known as uterine tubes, oviducts or salpinges (singular salpinx), are paired tubes in the human female that stretch from the uterus to the ovaries. The fallopian tubes are part of the female reproductive system. In ot ...

s floating in a glass vessel). Also on display inside are Boscarino's individual works of art such as his oil paintings and articulated metallic insect jewelry.

Related organization

Boscarino is also an officer in The Luna Parc Atelier Foundation Inc. The Foundation is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

entity registered under US IRC as a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...

that serves as an art colony and is chartered to teach and provide hands-on training to aspiring artists and apprentice workers. One mission of the Foundation is to ensure the continued existence of Luna Parc as a creative museum. Much of the Foundation's training, events, and fundraising takes place on the grounds of Luna Parc.

Critical reception

Mark Sceurman Mark Sceurman is a graphic artist and co-creator and publisher with Mark Moran (writer), Mark Moran of ''Weird NJ'' magazine and a state-by-state series of books. With Moran he co-hosted the spin-off television series ''Weird U.S. (TV series), Weird ...

, 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".

Some works exhibited

File:Et_In_Arcadia_Ego_is_a_common_expression_used_by_Ricky_of_Luna_Parc,_this_is_the_East_facing_facade.jpg , Facade of Luna Parc built of wood, rock, concrete, and ceramic mosaics File:Incubus_Mural,_western_facade_of_the_main_house_of_Luna_Parc.jpg , Closeup of Boscarino detailed mosaic art File:Self_Portrait_of_the_artist_known_as_Ricky_of_Luna_Parc.jpg , Example of Boscarino oil paintings on display at Luna Parc (self-portrait) File:Ceramic_plaque_incorporated_into_the_mosaic_facades.jpg , Example of Boscarino ceramic plaque embedded into facade File:Wind_machine_mounted_to_the_roof_of_Luna_Parc.jpg , Outdoor wind machine Boscarino built from rebar and bicycle wheels File:The_main_Ballroom_of_Luna_Parc.jpg , Multimedia ballroom showing Boscarino sculptures, Boscarino stained glass, and artifact collections File:The_main_entrance_to_the_house_of_Luna_Parc.jpg , Concrete

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

Boscarino built using the ferro-cement technique File:Articulated Cicada.jpg , Articulated silver and bronze cicada brooch Boscarino handmade by repoussé method File:Ceramic Head Pots.png , Kiln-fired ceramic vessels Boscarino handcrafted in tradition of

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago *Mississippian culture, a culture of Native American mound-builders from 900 to 1500 AD ...

head pots

References

External links

*
Autobiographical video narrated by Boscarino

Aerial drone footage of Luna Parc in winter

New Jersey State Council on the Arts video tour Luna Parc and interview of Boscarino
{{authority control Art museums and galleries in New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in New Jersey Contemporary art galleries in the United States Art museums and galleries established in 1989 Museums in Sussex County, New Jersey Houses in Sussex County, New Jersey Visionary environments 1989 establishments in New Jersey Open-air museums in New Jersey Museums established in 1989 Expressionist architecture Modernisme architecture Organic architecture Sandyston Township, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Sussex County, New Jersey