Reviews/Articles

The following are comments that people have made about Lumonics on Google Reviews, social media, and emails:

Lumonics Immersed at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery is a trip without drugs: so much to see, hear, and experience. The work of Dorothy and Mel Tanner is not only still very much alive here, it’s being carried on into a new generation through the school-within-a-gallery where students learn how to create new art in this vibrant, inspired/inspiring/visionary style. Art should change us, in all the best ways. It should open our minds, hearts and souls, and enliven our own creative instincts. My first time at this ongoing event did all that and more, and I’ll definitely be going back. Thank you so much for being such wonderful hosts, and for everything you—and everyone at Lumonics—are doing for the creative community and lovers of the arts.
– Will B.

The colors! The shapes! The illumination! It’s like walking through a beautiful fantasy. Highly recommended!
– Patrice N.

“Thank you  for a wonderful evening! Was so happy to learn about this amazing legacy and how it is being tended to for a new generation to appreciate.”
– Theo E.

Giving this anything less than five stars is just not understanding what proper aesthetics are.
Reese H.

This is a unique experience not to be missed, truly the highlight of our trip to Denver.
– Bridget B.

Lumonics is an absolutely beautiful immersion of original music and mind-bending light and visual art
that blends over 50 years of psychedelia-inspired artistic audiovisual mastery.
– Connor H.

These are special people. The art strokes your chakras. The people at Lumonics hold a place in my heart that I never knew I had. The work and vibration there are prolific!
– Austin L.

“We live in a dimension characterized  by what we can see, hear and taste. However, every 1 out of a million people decide to look past the veil of solid into the world of the abstract. It’s in this state that a person really perceives how much they don’t know. This is what I believe you created with your artwork. You’ve tried to glimpse the unthinkable and present that in the physicality of this reality.  Thusly, the result  is beauty beyond human thought.”
– N. S, 12th grader, Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning

What a surprise to receive this in the mail from our Representative Diana DeGette:

 

Thanks to Meow Wolf Denver for Writing about Lumonics in its “BLOB”:

Collab Artists in the Denver Wilderness
by ELISE TRIVERS, Feb 1, 2023

If you’ve ever left Meow Wolf Denver wondering about the artists, here’s a list of where to see their art outside of our walls. 

Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery

Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery was the first exhibiting artist at Galleri Gallery, our rotating gallery space on C Street, back when we opened in September of 2021. Now, a piece called Postscript permanently lives in the exhibit above travelers near the Noodle Bar. The artform developed by Lumonics is a multisensory experience combining light, sculpture and sound. 

“We are honored to present the latest form of the Lumonics multisensory experience that the late pioneering light artists, Dorothy and Mel Tanner, began in 1969. Marc Billard worked closely with the Tanners for many years, and his creative input has enabled the art form to continue to evolve. We are gratified to not only continue the art form but to see that it is evolving and continues to impact audiences. The audience members are also collaborators as they take this multisensory journey with us.”

Each Saturday, Lumonics opens their gallery space to the public for a ticketed immersive experience that honors the vision of their late original founders, Dorothy and Mel Tanner.

Collaborators: Dorothy and Mel Tanner (departed). Lumonics was once a team of seven but over the past 50 years, five have passed away, most recently Barbara Billard.

Lumonics: Continuing the legacy of luminaries Mel and Dorothy Tanner

By KELLY HAYES kelly.hayes@gazette.com Jan 7, 2024

Entering Lumonics Gallery in Denver is like walking onto a spaceship. 

Flows of neon line the futuristic gallery. Bright greens, pinks and blues guide the eye. Some of the colors roam free on sculptures, while others are confined by black frames. 

When the immersive show begins, it’s as if the spaceship is gearing up for take off. The artwork begins to talk by flashing light. Music plays on speakers and kaleidoscope-like imagery is projected. It’s trippy, for sure. 

Founded in 1963 by the late husband-and-wife duo Mel and Dorothy Tanner, Lumonics is the longest running light-art project in the U.S. The studio gallery in Denver is home to the collection of more than 200 of the Tanners’ original works, spanning over 50 years. 

article link

Surrounded by the sculptures of Lumonics late founders Dorothy and Mel Tanner, publicist and co-archivist Barry Raphael and Lumonics Studio and Lumonics Immersed creative director Marc Billard stand for a photo in the gallery used for the immersive light and sound show in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette)

BEST OF DENVER® /// ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/// 2023
BEST LONG-RUNNING IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

                                      

Artists Mel and Dorothy Tanner began experimenting with immersive experiences decades before it hit the mainstream, starting in Miami in the late ’60s. Although the Tanners have both passed away, their legacy is kept alive at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, which opened in Denver in 2008, by Marc and Barbara Billard, along with archivist Barry Raphael, all of whom were part of the Tanners’ collective. Lumonics Immersed is meant to be a healing experience, in which the Tanners’ light sculptures pulsate to soothing music by Marc Billard. The $20 immersive happens every Saturday from 8 to 10:30 p.m., and provides a mind-expanding, unforgettable experience.

Everything Fun to Do in Denver This Weekend
Arts & Entertainment Events 
By Allyson Reedy

The Lumonics Gallery is one of the longest running light art studios in the country, and you might have seen the light sculptures at places like Meow Wolf and Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. This Saturday, check out Lumonics Immersed, a light and sound performance intended to free creative energy and bring you into a state of comfort and expanded awareness.

LUMONICS CONTINUES TO LIGHT UP DENVER WITH ITS IMMERSIVE ART EXPERIENCE
JESSICA HUGHES | FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Photo of the Lumonics Gallery

Section of the Lumonics Gallery Jessica Hughes/303 Magazine

Re-immerse yourself in the arts with the original immersive art show in Denver, Lumonics Immersed. Tucked away from the city lights, just north of downtown Denver, the Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery is among the first and longest-running light art studios in the United States.

Lumonics Immersed is the creation of late artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner, who began this immersive light art experience in Miami in 1969. The Tanner’s vision and purpose of Lumonics expanded and made its way to Denver with the help of long-time admirers of their art — Barry Raphael and Marc and Barbara Billard, who now run the studio. Their first experience with the artists’ work was in 1972 and it had such a profound impact on each of them they offered their continued support for the project. 
link to article

Lumonics Immersed can be seen in the Carsen Theater at the Dairy Arts Center on August 11 and 12. Courtesy of Marc Billard

Lumonics Immersed can be seen in the Carsen Theater at the Dairy Arts Center on August 11 and 12. Photo Courtesy of Marc Billard

ART & CULTURE NEWS (WESTWORD)

Lumonics Immersed Takes Its Light Sculpture Experience to Boulder

Here are some excerpts from Toni Tresca’s article in Westword
 
On August 11 and 12, the Lumonics team will take over the Dairy Arts Center’s Carsen Theater to host three performances of its dazzling, immersive light show, Lumonics Immersed.

By Toni Tresca
August 8, 2023

Entering a performance at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery is like stepping through a looking glass and into a sci-fi wonderland. The gallery’s Lumonics Immersed  installation, which won a 2023 Best of Denver award for Best Long-Running Immersive Experience,  was originally created by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner, pioneering light artists whose singular style fuses elements of light, music and sculpture to produce captivating and engrossing experiences for the audience.

For the first time in the installation’s history, it will tour to Boulder as part of the gallery’s effort to broaden its reach and connect with new audiences. On Friday, August 11, and Saturday, August 12, the Lumonics team will take over the Dairy Arts Center’ Carsen Theatre.

Lumonics Immersed at the Dairy Arts Center is the perfect introduction to the Tanners’ unique art form in one of Boulder’s largest multi-disciplinary arts centers.”

Meditation meets acid trip in Lumonics Immersed

 
Nestled in a warehouse in Denver is one of the most unique artistic experiences I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.  By day, the building is home to the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery — a space that serves as a permanent art installation for the futuristic light sculpture of artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner. But on Saturdays, the gallery hosts Lumonics Immersed, a mesmerizing and immersive theatrical piece that’s designed to honor the memory of the Tanners. This exciting series of live performances at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery feels like the cross between a yoga retreat and an acid trip.
 

 
Six cool things to do in Denver this week by Isaac Vargas
Immersive Jazz-Art Experience at Lumonics
Date: Friday, May 19, 7 – 9:30 p.m.
Location: 800 E 73rd Ave, Unit 11
Every fourth Friday, the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery presents an evening of art, film, and live improvisational jazz accompanied by the Lumonics light sculptures/video projection. The evening is hosted by radio personality Janine Santana.
 
This Friday, Brad Goode will perform with his ensemble. Goode is the Associate Professor of Jazz Studies (Trumpet) at UC Boulder and serves as the Musical Director for the Conference on World Affairs.
Advance tickets are $20 and $25 at the door. You can reserve:
www.lumonics.net/jazz
 

In June 2015, Ryan Warner, host of Colorado Matters, interviewed 3 people in the arts:
age 82, 92, and 102.
Here are excerpts from the interview with then 92-year old Dorothy Tanner (9 minutes):

 

Thanks to the staff at Denver Westword for including tonight’s premiere of the Immersive Jazz-Art Series in the Weekend Calendar:

Immersive Jazz-Art Series
Friday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 East 73rd Avenue, Unit 11
Head to the Lumonics Gallery for an evening of art, film, live improvisational jazz, light shows and some surprises, hosted by Janine Santana. There will be a second show next Friday. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door; get them here: https://lumonics.net/jazz

 

 

Lumonics Immersed One-Year Anniversary
Saturday, September 3, 8 to 10:30 p.m.
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 East 73rd Avenue, #11

Lumonics Studio, immersive before anyone knew what to call it, has been showing off the light art of Dorothy and Mel Tanner for decades, and in Denver since 2009. But perhaps the best thing to happen at Lumonics started just a year ago, when the crew that manages Lumonics now that the Tanners are gone decided to launch the Lumonics Immersed series, introducing the trippy visual feast to a whole new audience.

 

Unique Things to Do in Denver This Weekend:
 

Enigma by Dorothy Tanner

When: Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Where: Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 E. 73rd Ave. Unit 11, Denver
Cost: $15 – $25
The Lowdown: Experience a multi-sensory journey with Lumonics Immersed. The event aims to refresh your mind, body and spirit. Before and after the exploration you can take a look at more than 75 light artworks in the front gallery rooms, art studio and performance space.
 
Photo of Enigma by Dorothy Tanner.
Courtesy of Lumonics Gallery
 
 

 

DENVER — Immersive before it was trendy, “Lumonics Immersed” is a multi-sensory journey to refresh your body, mind and spirit, produced by one of the first and longest-running light art studios in the U.S. The experience features original special effects, music and video projection and light sculptures. Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery at 800 E. 73rd Ave. Unit 11 in Denver. Reserve your tickets at Lumonics.net/immersed
 

 

Art & Object

August 30, 2022
Dorothy Tanner sitting among Lumonics light sculptures

Dorothy Tanner sitting among Lumonics light sculptures

“Lumonics Among the Longest-Running Light Art Studios in the U.S.
Lumonics is among the first and longest-running light art studios in the U.S., originating in Miami, FL at the same time as the Light and Space Movement got underway in Southern California.”
link to article

Where to Immerse Yourself in Immersive Art in Denver

The Lumonics art collective started offering immersive experiences decades ago, long before the immersive concept was exploited by companies that realized it was the perfect way to capitalize on iPhone-wielding influencers. Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery, which is devoted to the light sculptures of the late Mel and Dorothy Tanner, now offers weekly editions of Lumonics Immersed, an event designed to provide healing while the sculptures’ glowing lights pulsate to ethereal music produced by Dorothy and composer Marc Billard, the Lumonics studio’s creative director. “Dorothy used to call it a vacation from yourself,” Barry Raphael, the gallery’s archivist, told Westword last year. 

The Denver Gazette

Arts News by John Moore, Senior Arts Journalist

Dorothy Tanner sitting in a chair under Lumonics light sculpture

Dorothy Tanner

A celebration of Dorothy Tanner’s life will be held at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery at 800 E. 73rd Ave. from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday (July 24). Tanner, who was known for creating magical light sculptures and her positive spoken word “cosmic rap,” died at the start of the COVID outbreak at age 97. She was the co-founder of Lumonics, one of the first and longest-running light art projects in the U.S.

Art Attack

SUSAN FROYD | JULY 20, 2022

Dorothy Tanner gazing at Logo

Dorothy Tanner gazing at Logo

Celebration of the Life of Dorothy Tanner
Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery, 800 East 73rd Avenue, #11
Sunday, July 24, 1 to 4 p.m.

It’s been two years since Dorothy Tanner, the light artist who founded Lumonics Studio decades ago with her partner and fellow artist Mel Tanner, passed away at the age of 97. With the easing of pandemic protections, the crew that carries on at Lumonics — Barry Raphael and Marc Billard — can finally host a proper memorial for Tanner at Lumonics, a place that’s been kept alight not only by light sculptures, but by live music, dancing and spiritual events. Interview clips will be shown, and Tanner’s “Cosmic Rap” will also be revisited, but a lot of stories will surely be told, too, as the afternoon goes on.

 

“Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery, which is devoted to the light sculptures of the late Mel and Dorothy Tanner, now offers weekly editions of Lumonics Immersed, an event designed to provide healing while the sculptures’ glowing lights pulsate to ethereal music produced by Dorothy and Marc Billard.”

 

 

“A far cry from the quietude more typical of the average art exhibit,
Lumonics’  gallery space is a welcome bombardment of
the senses, with a rich history to boot.”
John Mazzetta, Editor of The Sentry, Univ. of Colorado Denver
Photos by Enzi  Gaydos
article

Dorothy Tanner's light sculpture on cover of The Sentry Newspaper

Lumonics light sculptures in The Sentry Newspaper

 

Denverite

Immersive van Gogh not for you?
Here are some alternative Denver arts experiences
If the idea of sitting in a space looking at light and color is what attracted you to immersive van Gogh, we have a local alternative for you. Lumonics is a light and sound experience that’s been around since the 1960s, long before immersive art was considered a “trend.”

 

Colorful Meow Wolf logo on the side of the Meow Wolf building in Denver

Denver Arts Scene Is Bigger and Better Than Washington Post Suggests

 Emily Ferguson of Denver Westword wrote an insightful article about alternative art in the Denver area. That Lumonics is mentioned is so greatly appreciated. Here is an excerpt:

 “There’s Beacon, a new venue that’s chock-full of interactive spaces built by local artists (and serves delicious craft cocktails, to boot), as well as that Lumonics Gallery of Light and Sound, whose delightful management is always overjoyed to show off the light-art sculptures of the late Mel and Dorothy Tanner and introduce visitors to its calming immersive light show. “

 

 

Show Business: The Ten Biggest Arts Stories of 2021

Thanks to Denver Westword and cultural editor Emily Ferguson for including Lumonics Immersed. There is a link to the article Ms. Ferguson had written about Lumonics.

Let There Be Light:
Lumonics Immersed is a Healing Experience
by Emily Ferguson, Cultural Editor

You may lose your sense of time in this immersive art experience

Lumonics light sculptures in the gallery

Section of the Lumonics Gallery

 

Westword
 

Thank you to Westword and Susan Froyd for including  Lumonics Immersed in Art Attack:
Fifteen Ways to See Great Art in Denver:
Lumonics Immersed

“Lumonics, which seems to be everywhere these days, reprises its in-house Lumonics Immersed light-sculpture show combining art with special effects, original music and video by the late Dorothy Tanner and longtime collaborator Marc Billard. Treat your eyes!”

 

 

Thrillist

The Lumonics Gallery is one of the longest running light art studios in the country, and on the second Sunday of the month, they’re offering guided tours of their Light & Sound Gallery. Besides basking in all the light and color, the tour culminates in a mini light and sound immersive experience.

 

Meow Wolf predicts making a $2.5B boost to Denver’s economy. Is that realistic? 

By Ed Sealover  –  Senior Reporter, Denver Business Journal

link to article

excerpt:

Meanwhile, one fourth-floor gallery in Convergence Station will offer a rotating display of local artists, with Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery set to occupy it first from opening day through early January with 12 different pieces that can be purchased by visitors. While Meow Wolf certainly will garner a lot of the attention set to go to the Denver art community in the coming months, opportunities like that will only enhance the sector rather than overshadow it, said Barry Raphael, co-architect of the project for Lumonics.

“It’s going to be a very good thing for Denver. It’s going to bring a lot more people to the area. It’s giving artists — and a lot of them do not have gallery representation — a much higher profile,” Raphael said. “Overall, I think it’s going to be just the opposite of sucking the oxygen away from the community.”

 

Thanks to Westword for recommending this to its readers!

Lumonics Immersed

Color Vapors by Mel Tanner

Color Vapors by Mel Tanner

Learn the true meaning of Lumonics when the temple of light art by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner throws a special immersive evening combining art with special effects, original music and video by Dorothy Tanner and longtime collaborator Mark Billard. An audiovisual mantra meant to soothe the mind and expand awareness, this drug-free trip through Lumonics is unforgettable. Admission is $20 in advance.

 

What’s this “Meow Wolf” thing you keep hearing about? 

 

Lumonics light sculptures at Meow Wolf Denver's The Galleri

A gallery containing work by Denver’s Lumonics collective inside Meow Wolf Denver: Convergence Station. Sept. 13, 2021. Photo: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

 

Lumonics light sculptures in a flyer for the art exhibit at Meow Wolf Denver

flyer for the art exhibit at Meow Wolf Denver 

 

Immerse yourself in Lumonics’ Lights and Sounds
Column by Clarke Reader

(excerpt)

Great artists aren’t exactly well known for staying in the same place for long. That certainly was the case for Dorothy and Mel Tanner, the former of whom had a background in sculpture and the latter was an abstract painter. But they were introduced to acrylic glass (Plexiglas) and began building geometric shapes, which lead to creating lighted water fountains and more elaborate abstract sculptures in 1966.

And so Lumonics, one of the longest-running light art projects in the country, was born. Since their first light and sound experience in Miami in 1969 combined light sculptures, lasers, special effects and original music and video elements, the Tanners and their gallery have continued to experiment and grow.

“Mel had a mystical experience in the summer of 1969, right around the first landing on the moon, and he wanted the artwork to be more experiential,” said Barry Raphael, Lumonics co-archivist and team member. “The Tanners converted their warehouse art studio into a light and sound theater and created site-specific art for it.”

Raphael explained that the mezzanine became a projection booth where the Tanners created hundreds of hand-painted slides that were projected on a large wall in addition to live painting and overhead projectors. They connected all the artworks to a color organ so that they could control the light sculptures to music during the performances, he said.

Mel died in 1993 and Dorothy in 2020, but the intention of remaining members Marc Billard, Barbara Billard and Raphael is to honor their legacy. Something they’ll be doing with their new multi-sensory experience, Lumonics Immersed. 

“It has a magical quality. It is filled with the Tanners’ light sculptures, each one unique, yet they work together so harmoniously,” he said. “People can also explore the studio where the artwork is made and visit the Lumonics School of Light Art. We teach students how to build and ‘artify’ geometric shapes, just as the artform began.”

For tickets and information, visit www.lumonics.net/immersed.

 

Denverite

This summer, you have the chance to tour Lumonics’ trippy light art gallery

Experience that art that has helped some people have spiritual breakthroughs or past-life regressions.
by Maggie Donahue
Photos by Kevin J. Beaty
July 8, 2021

“Lumonics is offering Second Sunday Guided Tours of their Light & Sound Gallery. Barry Raphael, a longtime Lumonics member and co-archivist, will act as tour guide, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in light and color, view works by the late artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner and learn about the history of the collective. At the end, studio director Marc Billard will conduct an immersive light and sound experience.”

Mark Billard at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery

Marc Billard stands inside Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery in Denver’s northern reaches. Dec. 1, 2020. Photo: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

 

 

A Dozen Things to Do for Free In and Around Denver This Week

Second Sunday Guided Tours

If you’ve never experienced Lumonics — the amazing light sculptures of free-thinking couple Dorothy and Mel Tanner, who began making them in the swinging ’60s — here’s your chance to see the work, as well as Lumonics itself, a fortress of spiritually uplifting art-making. After Dorothy passed away a year ago at the age of 97, co-archivist Barry Raphael and studio director Marc Billard were left to carry on the Lumonics torch; now that people can congregate again, they’re hosting tours every second Sunday. Learn more and sign up for the free tours here.

 

 

Meow Wolf Denver Reveals Its Local Creative Contributors
(Westword article by Patricia Calhoun, May 17, 2021)

Meow Wofl Denver exhibit

 

 

 
Dreamzone by Mel Tanner

Dreamzone (detail) photo: Third Dune Productions

Lumonics Mind Spa
Review by Mary Grace Bernard
Jan 20, 2021

Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection is bringing much-needed color and light to downtown Denver. The exhibition presents works by Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020) and Mel Tanner (1925-1993)—an artist couple who dedicated their life and art practice to the immersive experiences of visual art and to promoting the importance of physical, emotional, and spiritual awareness.
more

 

Thanks to Kate Perdoni, producer at Rocky Mountain PBS for her article and video about Lumonics:
“‘Light Intersection’ electrifies Theatre District”

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBSphoto of Paradigm: Third Dune Productions

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS photo of Paradigm: Third Dune Productions

 

 

 

Denverite

detail of Dorothy Tanner's Space Flower

“Space Flower” by Dorothy Tanner on display at the Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery in Denver’s northern reaches. Photo: Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

excerpt:

by Maggie Donahue (Jan. 25, 2021))

At the Colorado Convention Center, just steps away from the Big Blue Bear, Understudy’s latest  fishbowl exhibition offers a time capsule beyond glass: a glimpse into the life’s work of a group of prolific light artists.

Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection is a collection of work by the Denver-based light art group Lumonics — specifically, the work of its late founders, Mel and Dorothy Tanner. Through January 31, visitors to the installation can stand on the sidewalk, peer through the glass and soak in the art: a series of colorful, LED-illuminated plexiglass sculptures best viewed at night.

This work is one of several of what Dorothy Tanner called “mind spas”: light art displays designed to be a soothing retreat for the mind.
link to article

 

 


PATRICIA CALHOUNDECEMBER 17, 2020 

Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection
Through January 31
Understudy Gallery, 700 14th Street

One of the big losses this year was artist Dorothy Tanner who, along with her late husband Mel Tanner, made light sculptures designed to create a state of comfort, relaxation and creativity. Many of them are currently installed in a “fishbowl” style installation at Understudy, located at the Colorado Convention Center — which is closed, but you can see the Lumonics exhibit through the window. Find out more here.

 

 

Add light-sculpture viewing to your downtown Denver visit

by: Keely Sugden, KDVR.com
Posted:  

Mel Tanner's Dreamzone

Dreamzone by Mel Tanner Photo: Third Dune Productions 

Lumonics Light Sculpture exhibit, at the Understudy Gallery.
14th St. and Stout in the Denver Theatre District.

 

DENVER (KDVR) — The Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection exhibit is a creative stop on this year’s downtown holiday light-viewing journey.

The concept for this free exhibit was developed by the founders of Lumonics, Mel and Dorothy Tanner.

“A total art installation that fosters a state of comfort, relaxation and creativity,” is the reason the Lumonics Mind Spa was created, according to Barry Raphael the publicist for Lumonics.

The exhibit is on view until Jan. 30 from the windows of the Understudy Gallery at 14th Street and Stout Street in Denver’s Theatre District.

Lumonics Mind Spa can be seen anytime, but is best viewed after dark.

Lumonics has been selected as the opening exhibit of Meow Wolf Denver‘s Station Gallery, showcasing the work of light art pioneers Dorothy and Mel Tanner.

Meow Wolf Denver is planning to open in the fall of 2021. 

 

Collage by Dorothy Tanner

Collage by Dorothy Tanner

Art Attack: Fourteen New Shows for the Last First Friday of 2020
SUSAN FROYD DECEMBER 2, 2020 12:33PM

Lumonics Mind Spa:  Light Intersection
Through January 30

In the spirit of the season, Understudy joins the rest of downtown Denver in mounting annual holiday lighting displays with its own burst of neon-bright color, provided by the light sculptures of the Lumonics Mind Spa. Created by the late husband-and-wife team of Mel and Dorothy Tanner, the series of works will be on view, fishbowl-style, through the end of January.

 

Outdoor art installations by Maggie Donahue
Denverite
Nov. 14, 2020

Understudy is an art incubation run out of the Colorado Convention Center. Lately, they’ve been displaying their installations in a fishbowl format:  Guests can stand on the sidewalk and safely look in on the exhibit through the glass walls of the CCC. Understudy’s latest installation, Lumonics Mind Spa, is a series of soothing light sculptures that can be enjoyed any time of day, but is best experienced at night. The installation launches on Nov. 27 and runs through Jan. 30.

 

Remembering Light Artist Dorothy Tanner of Lumonics

 

As many may have learned, Dorothy Tanner, co- founder of  Lumonics,  died at the age of 97 on July 23rd. She was one in a million and I got to spend an unforgettable morning with her at the time of the first retrospective of her career, and of that of her late husband, Mel Tanner. That spectacular exhibit, put together by Tim Vacca, was presented at the  Museum of Outdoor Arts- MOA  in 2017. The review linked below tells the history of the group, the couple that founded it, and that of the other Lumonics’ family,  Barry Raphael,  Mark Billard and Barbara Ungar. Working together, they intend to keep the light of the collective glowing.
Michael Paglia, Westword   Art Writer

Review:  Lumonics Then & Now  Shines at Museum of Outdoor Arts

 

 

Thanks to  Denver Mayor, Michael B. Hancock, for his letter of condolence

letter from Mayor Michael Hancock

 

 

Thanks to  Central City Mayor, Jeremy  Fey, for this proclamation honoring Dorothy Tanner:

letter from Jeremy Fey, Mayor of Central City, Colorado

 

Thank you to  Keely Sugden  of KDVR- Denver for writing this tribute to Dorothy.   Keely first saw Dorothy’s work at the Museum of Outdoor Arts and was one of our first students when we began the Lumonics School of Light Art.
Innovative light art artist Dorothy Tanner passes away at 97

 

Rick Spisak’s interview  with Lumonics archivist Barry Raphael,  August, 2020 : 
“Regarding the recent passing of Dorothy Tanner, and the work of Mel and Dorothy Tanner from the founding of Lumonics to the Future”

 

Thanks to Susan Froyd of Westword for including the new Lumonics Mind Spa: Thornton in her  Art Attack: Twelve Ways to See Art, Live or Otherwise This Weekend  column on June 3, 2020

Lumonics Mind Spa: Thornton
Thornton Arts & Culture Center, 9209 Dorothy Boulevard, Thornton
Tuesdays through Fridays, 1 to 5 p.m., June 2 through September 25

Hexagon-shaped Lumonics light sculpture

“The traveling Lumonics Mind Spa, a meditative extravaganza of light art by Dorothy and Mel Tanner, with video art and music by Marc Billard and Dorothy Tanner, lands in Thornton this summer at the Thornton Arts & Culture Center, which is open for business with limitations. A maximum of ten people will be allowed to contemplate the art and let their minds free in the gallery at one time, and safety protocols will be enforced. Just the thing for folks who’ve been trapped in their houses for weeks.”

https://issuu.com/artsthornton/docs/lumonics_art_book_pages

 

Thornton Arts welcomes the summer

Recommended activities for the coming weeks

Posted 

The Thornton Arts and Culture Division is emerging from the COVID-19 closedown with several free activities that provide artistic connection and take into account the need to keep attendees safe.

“We’ve been looking for ways to deliver creative experiences to our communities,” said Alisa Zimmerman, arts and culture manager with the City of Thornton. “It’s going to be a work in progress — something we’ll tweak as we go through summer. We want the arts to be a way people can engage in a positive way.”

The first activity, Lumonics Mind Spa: Thornton, runs through Sept. 25 in the OZ Gallery at the Thornton Arts and Culture Center, 9209 Dorothy Blvd. The Denver-based Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery worked to create the installation which, according to provided information, uses “the light sculptures of artists Dorothy Tanner and Mel Tanner, and the video art and music of Marc Ballard and Dorothy Tanner, to create a soothing space for reflection and contemplation.”

As Zimmerman explained, there can be no more than 10 people in the gallery at a time, but while there they can meditate or bring their own art supplies to create in the multi-sensory installation.

“It’s a bit like the Calm app. We want people to come, get out of their homes, mellow out in this space and see how art can be different than a framed picture,” she said. “It’s really a different experience, and people might get something different from it each time. We hope people leave and feel a little renewed, refreshed and not so stressed.”

 

April 15, 2020
Thanks to Kyle Harris for including Lumonics in Westword’s Things to Do in Denver Today Without Leaving Your Home:
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery
In 2017, the Museum of Outdoor Arts hosted a retrospective of light sculptures by Mel and Dorothy Tanner. To document this stunning installation, the MOA produced a 3-D virtual tour.

 

 

The Lumonics School of Light Art in Denver is honored to be one of the sponsors of the benefit for the Autism Society of Colorado: The world premiere of Autism: One Man’s Journey this Tuesday, March 10th.

announcement of Autism film

 

 

Art Attack: Fifteen Best Things for Denver Gallery Lovers to Do This Week
SUSAN FROYD  |  JANUARY 23, 2020

“The Lumonics School of Light Art, the educational wing of light-art genius Dorothy Tanner’s Lumonics Studio, has been going strong all year, giving novice light artists a chance to glow. The school needs a financial boost in order to grow and stay the course. To that end, musician Sean Kelly of the Samples is donating his time and voice to Lumonics to help in the fundraising campaign, backed up by a light show to be remembered, courtesy of video art by Tanner and Marc Billard.”

 

Night Lights Denver
January, 2020

Mark Billard in front of colorful image

Long-time member of Lumonics,  Marc Billard, had his abstract video art selected for Night Lights Denver. For the month of January, the videos of Marc, Maya Dite-Shepard and Conor King will be projected on the Daniels & Fisher Tower every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening from 5:30pm – 8:30pm.  It will take place on the Arapahoe Street side of the  Tower, located at 1601 Arapahoe St. on the 16th Street Mall.

“Night Lights Denver is a permanent way for The Denver Theatre District to support innovative artists with an experimental platform while attracting people downtown to experience a free, unique, surprise-and-delight experience.”

 

Artist Name:  Marc Billard // Lumonics

Artwork title:  Spectral City

Artist statement:  “The highway from building only physical artwork (1972 to present) to video artwork (1994 to present) has been an interesting and fulfilling journey for me. Many of the video works have been in collaboration with Mel & Dorothy Tanner, using techniques based on the 50-year history of Lumonics and its live multi-media installations.”
https://nightlightsdenver.com/

 

 

Art Attack: Sixteen of the Best Things for Gallery Lovers to Do in Denver This Week
by |   NOVEMBER 6, 2019  

Front windows of light sculptures on display at The Storeroom

Front windows of light sculptures on display at The Storeroom photo: Brendan Picker

From the Beginning: A Lumonics Light Art Installation
The Storeroom, 1700 Vine Street
November 8 through December 31
Opening Reception: Friday, November 8, 6 to 8 p.m.

The incredible light sculptures of Dorothy and the late Mel Tanner and their students will light the windows at the Storeroom  gallery through the end of the year in a salute to the Tanners’ Lumonics legacy and a super-modern nod to the holiday season. The beauty of it is that you can drive by any night and see it without bumping elbows with other gallery-goers, just as you would the lighted City and County Building. But the reception will be nice, too, with the cozy Vine Street Pub & Brewery waiting for you to come in and warm up next door.

 

 

Denver Arts Week and 36 Things to do in Denver this Week

From the Beginning – A Lumonics Light Art Installation

cube-shaped Lumonics light sculpture

Photo Courtesy of The Storeroom‎ on Facebook

When: November 8,  6 – 8 p.m. 
Where: The Storeroom, 1700 Vine St., Denver 
Cost: Free admission

The Lowdown:  See a series of light columns and cubes created by artists Mel and Dorothy Tanner during a From the Beginning – A Lumonics Light Art Installation. The installation — located behind the glass of an empty storefront — will hold works from over 50 years ago that sparked the Tanners’ new experiences of light sculpture, electronics and live projection.

 

We feel an Art Attack coming on 
(as  Susan Froyd  would write in Westword)

Grand Opening, Lumonics Gallery
Lumonics Gallery, 7 Healing Stars Oneness Center, 460 Gregory Street, Blackhawk
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 14, 7 to 10 p.m.
Regular Hours: Fridays, 6 to 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 7 to 10 p.m.; or by appointment

There’s gold — and now colors galore — in them thar hills: Lumonics, the light-art studio of octogenarian sculptor Dorothy Tanner, now has a satellite gallery in Black Hawk that might just shine brighter than a roomful of slot machines.

Art Attack: Twelve of the Best Things for Gallery Lovers to See and Do This Week in Denver
SUSAN FROYD | SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 | 8:23AM

Dorothy Tanner standing next to Lumonics light sculpture

Dorothy Tanner with the light sculpture “Rondo”

 

 

colorful Meow Wolf logo

With a Little Help from Our Friends

BY  MEOW WOLF,   OCT 01, 2019

We wanted to catch up with some of our previous DIY Fund recipients to learn more about the good work they’ve been doing!

Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery (Denver, Colorado)

Yess + Love = Bliss by Dorothy Tanner

Yess + Love = Bliss by Dorothy Tanner

Lumonics  aims to impact people of all ages in their community via events at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery and classes at the Lumonics School of Light Art, all in the same location in Denver. Their events range from a monthly open house/open mic to holistic events, such as LoveFest with the Oneness Care Community (Astrology, Art, Music, Yoga, Reiki, Aura Readings) and live performance events. The light sculpture studio, dating back to 1966, is among the earliest and longest running light art studios in the U.S. The Lumonics School of Light Art began in 2018, and was being conceived when Lumonics applied for the DIY Fund last year. 

 

The following answers were presented by Barry Raphael, Project Archivist and Administrator of the Lumonics School of Light Art.

 

How do you think the DIY arts community can better support each other?

“I think Meow Wolf has been a needed catalyst. The early meetings that were organized with the Artist/DIY community has led to a focused project in which people have been encouraged to submit proposals for the upcoming Meow Wolf Denver. It also led to many people in the Denver area meeting each other for the first time, forging new relationships. The Meow Wolf Denver Facebook group has become a kind of bulletin board announcing events and projects.”

 

What are your hopes and dreams for your space? 

“We want to continue presenting events, creating new light and sound installations, and reaching specific groups of people in the community who could benefit from our classes, such as people on the autism spectrum, vets and first responders struggling with PTSD, and those seeking a career in immersive entertainment. Our School is now part of 7 Healing Stars, a 501(c)(3) organization, founded by Dr. Jomar Suarez, a psychiatrist who recognizes the mental health benefits of the School and the Lumonics expression.”

light sculptures in the Lumonics performing space

What does DIY mean to you?

DIY to me means Dorothy and the late Mel Tanner, the creators of Lumonics, who had a vision of turning their warehouse art studio into a performance art space in Miami in the late 1960s, utilizing their light sculptures, hand-painted slides, overhead projectors, strobe lights, live projection, and the color organ. Blow-up furniture, water beds, mylar on the walls, and light sculptures created specifically for the space made for a powerful setting that has positively impacted thousands of lives over the years, with many noting it as a peak life experience. This was all done with very limited funds. I am part of the crew that volunteered to help them fulfill that vision.”

 

 

DIY Fund: Meow Wolf Announces 2018 Recipients of Grant Awards! – Meow Wolf
Lumonics is honored to be the recipient of a Meow Wolf grant, announced in April 2019. “Grants are used for rent, infrastructure, safety improvements, materials, equipment, and community programming.” 

DIY Becomes Do It Together as Meow Wolf Funds Colorado Arts Groups
LAUREN ANTONOFF | MAY 7, 2019 | 10:15AM | WESTWORD 
Lumonics School of Light Art, the Denver studio founded by nonagenarian artist Dorothy Tanner that offers light-art workshops, is another of the grant recipients… “

 

Westword Magazine cover with person wearing reflective sun glassesBEST OF DENVER® /// 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT /// 2019///WESTWORD

If you haven’t seen the light art of Lumonics, a working studio and homage to the colorful illuminated works of nonagenarian Dorothy Tanner and her late husband, Mel, Google it now. Though best seen in person in a dark room, you’ll get an idea of the magic being made there. Inspired? Now you can make your own light sculpture from Plexiglas and LED lights, with expert instruction at the Lumonics studio. Taught by Tanner associate Marc Billard, the four-session classes are an opportunity to bring the wonder of light to your own living room; no experience or artistic talent required. Let there be light!

800 E. 73rd Ave., Denver, 80229 
303-568-9406
lumonics.net

 

The Temple Grandin School  Autism Resource Fair
Sunday Sept 29, 2019
1p-4p

Autism school building in Boulder, CO

 

The Lumonics School of Light Art was happy to participate in the Temple Grandin School Autism Resource Fair on Sunday, Sept 29 from 1 to 4 pm.

The TGS Autism Resource Fair is an event where parents and individuals can get information from a wide range of local advocacy, support, recreation, therapy, education and employment exhibitors who serve individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. This will be an outdoor event. The TGS Autism Resource Fair will be held in the parking area of the Temple Grandin School in Boulder. Access to restrooms inside the building will be permitted for all attending.

 

Learn Light Art from Denver’s Luminary Sculptor

Dorothy Tanner, the lauded 95-year-old Denver sculptor and recipient of the 2018 Denver Mayor’s Award for Artistic Excellence and Innovation, is now taking students.

students making cubes at Lumonics School of Light Art

 | 

Additional  Lumonics School of Light Art Articles

 

Twelve Things for Art Lovers to See and Do on First Friday Weekend in Denver

If you’re a newbie to the new-agey Lumonics experience, this laid-back open house is a perfect introduction to the mind-blowing light works of nonagenarian artist Dorothy Tanner and her late partner, Mel Tanner. Refreshments, along with music and performances at the anything-goes open mic, will complete the free experience; RSVP at eventbrite.com.

See the Then and Now Retrospective Page for many reviews of the Museum of Outdoor Arts Exhibit.

 

 

 

Lumonics light sculptures in window in Central City, CO

Lumonics light sculptures in window in Central City, CO

Thanks to the Gilpin Arts Association for commissioning this light art installation in Central City, CO for the months of June, July, and August.

Gilpin County News Release announcing Lumonics art exhibit

 

 

Lumonics was included in the publication, Imagine 2020 Cultural Plan Year in Review, 2017-2018,  in the section, “Integration: Increasing Art, Culture & Creativity in Daily Life.” This was Dorothy Tanner’s intention for the Lumonics Mind Spa installation that ended in July in the Community Center of the McNichols Civic Center Building.  For it to be acknowledged in this way is gratifying, especially working with such a dedicated staff of the McNichols Building.

Magazine cover of Imagine 2020

page in book with Lumonics light sculpures

 

 

100 Colorado Creatives 3.0: Dorothy Tanner

Dorothy Tanner looking at her light sculpture

Dorothy Tanner in front of Lumonics sculpture “Logo.” photo: Candace Hill

100 Colorado Creatives 3.0: Dorothy Tanner

Bronx-born nonagenarian Dorothy Tanner and her late husband, Mel Tanner, began building Plexiglas light sculptures in the hip ’60s, but the two were always more than sculptors. Rather, their life’s work was a spiritually driven multimedia gestalt of music, motion and mind-blowing visuals they dubbed Lumonics. Since Mel’s death in 1993, Dorothy has continued to carry the Lumonics torch, relocating her studio to Denver in 2008. As a preview to the first comprehensive retrospective of their work, opening on January 13 at the Museum of Outdoor Arts, we invited Dorothy Tanner to enlighten our readers with her answers to the 100CC questionnaire.

 

 

Dorothy Tanner’s ‘Lumonics Mind Spa’ Offers Blissful Light Sculptures
by Colleen Smith
Art&object

6-sided Lumonics light sculpture

 

 

Review: Lumonics Then & Now  Shines at Museum of Outdoor Arts
by Michael Paglia, Denver Westword

Feb. 15, 2017

Lumonics light sculpture

The eye-dazzling yet somehow relaxing Lumonics Then & Now:  A Retrospective of Light-Based Sculpture by Dorothy & Mel Tanner transforms the interior galleries of the Museum of Outdoor Arts into a world of their own. The spotlights have been dimmed so that the exhibit’s internally lighted transparent acrylic sculptures and wall panels, as well as its projected videos, can glow gently in the near-darkness. A soft electronic soundtrack composed by Dorothy Tanner and her longtime collaborator, Marc Billard, adds yet another soothing aspect to the exhibit.
link to article

 

Todd Siler Review of Tanner Retrospective:
It was  “another kind of reality distortion field walking [into] Dorothy Tanner’s cocoon-like world of Lumonics, where this artist has used various light sources to create powerful aesthetic experiences that reverberate throughout your body-mind-spirit in richly subtle ways.”

 

Light Fantastic
Plugging in, turning out and turning up the story of Dorothy and Mel Tanner at the MOA
by Ray Mark Rinaldi
Special to the Denver Post
Jan. 19, 2017

Dorothy Tanner looking at Lumonics light sculpture

“I’m a long story,” Dorothy Tanner says of herself.  And she tells it, in bits and pieces….read more

 

 

                                                         
5280 Magazine

CULTURE
Seeing the Light
A 93-year-old artist looks back on decades of unconventional work.
BY ABBEY WHITE, JANUARY 2017

Dorothy Tanner in front of Lumonics light sculpture

Photo by Paul Miller of Dorothy Tanner in front of
Shazam at the Museum of Outdoor Arts

While Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and the Who were all busy playing with their lasers, Westminster artist Dorothy Tanner was inventing a different kind of light show. In the ’60s, together with her late husband, Mel, the now 93-year-old created an artistic style known as Lumonics, a technique that involves LED-lit abstract sculptures backed by soundtracks that add to the display’s mood. Lumonics soon took off, and the Tanners brought the art form with them, often collaborating with theater troupes and musicians, when they moved to places as far-flung as Miami and Maine. Several years after Mel died, Dorothy moved to Colorado, where she opened Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery at Tanner Studio. “Palm trees and flatlands become boring after a while,” she says. By that point, Dorothy had been diagnosed with glaucoma and macular degeneration. But even though her vision is deteriorating, she hasn’t stopped creating. In fact, you can still see her immersive installations in Then and Now: A Retrospective Exhibition of Light-Based Sculptures by Dorothy & Mel Tanner, debuting January 13 at the Museum of Outdoor Arts.

 

 

   television program Art District advertisement

The “Arts District” (Rocky Mountain PBS) episode about Dorothy Tanner has been selected for airing on national PBS stations. It most recently aired on Los Angeles Public TV’s LA ART and WHYY in Philadelphia

“Light and sound artist Dorothy Tanner creates breathtaking sculptures using light, and she also uses sound to create a mesmerizing, multi-sensory experience. Dorothy takes us into her Denver studio and gallery — Lumonics.”

 

 

Dorothy Tanner with television crew

City of Denver Channel 8’s Bobby LeFebre interviewing Dorothy Tanner for “ArtScene” at Lumonics. Thanks to producer Carol Caster.
May 30, 2017

 

 

 

7 Healing Stars symbol

Destination: Art! – The Scarlet Venue –
Music – Visual Arts – Healing Arts

What happens when you combine the healing arts with the visual arts and live music? An introduction into beauty, empowerment and contemplation begins. Saturday, September 17th, 2016, 8pm-4am, The Scarlet Venue, 131 Main Street in downtown Central City, Colorado will open its doors to a holistic level of healing and artistic expression that offers something for everyone, brought to you by 7 Healing Stars, Feyline and Colorado Concerts. The line-up includes:
Random Rab and Templo just to name a few. Joining the expressive team for this event is Dorothy Tanner; light sculptor, installation artist and director of Tanner Studio/Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery of Denver
continue reading in ArtBeat Magazine

 

 

 

Artbeat Magazine

Lumonics light sculpture

Enigma by Dorothy Tanner

 

Dorothy Tanner sitting in a Lumonics room surrounded by light sculptures

It took two years before our life’s schedules would align for this interview.

It was as if the stars knew that the setting wasn’t right until now. Her showroom is dark upon entry from the bright outdoors. It takes a few moments to begin seeing the colorful lighting around you as your eyes adjust. It takes a few moments more to grasp the beauty that surrounds you. Leave everything that you carry with you at the door; your uncertainty, your day of working that 9 to 5 job, because you have now entered into the serenity and positive light
that is the artwork of a true legend.

When asked where she finds her inspiration, “I don’t find it… it finds me.”

Read the Full article

 

 

 

Colleen Smith’s Interview with Dorothy Tanner
Colorado Expression Magazine

Lumonics light sculpture that is sandblasted

Sandcastle (detail) by Dorothy Tanner

 

 

 

 

Shatter the Status Quo by Candace A. Hill
EmpoweredWomen’sCircle.com

I first met Dorothy Tanner about ten years ago, dancing among a crowd of sweaty bodies. I didn’t know I was looking for a petite elderly woman, I just knew I wanted to meet the extraordinary artist I’d heard so much about.

Dorothy Tanner is the founder of Lumonics; an unusual gallery in Denver, Colorado, featuring the LED lit Plexiglas sculptures she creates. Lumonics hosts workshops, school field trips, yoga classes, meditations, and music events of all kinds. So, when a DJ friend of mine landed a gig there, I went with great anticipation.

As I wandered into the darkened gallery dream space filled with the soft glow of whimsical sculptures that looked like abstract life forms and alien space ships, I knew I’d found something special. The outside world seemed to disappear, and I suddenly realized that I had just entered a gateway into a new dimension where…
read more

Candace’s website:
https://worthwiseappraisers.com/

 

Westword

Jan, 26, 2016

Dorothy’s 93rd/Open House

By Brad Weismann

Dorothy Tanner will be 93 soon. Tanner is still making art, and her birthday has been merged with an open house on January 30 at her Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery. Friends and well-wishers, including several musicians, will be there to celebrate her long and productive life.

Tanner and her late husband, Mel, pioneered ideas in environmental/installation art, using synaesthetic, multi-modal concepts that incorporate light, sculpture, water, music, projections, electronics and more. Tanner continues to craft pieces with collaborator Marc Billard, despite recent struggles with glaucoma and macular degeneration.

“Norman Broomhall and John Gonzales will be getting together and playing again as hi frontier,” says organizer Barry Raphael, describing their work as ambient; Jordan Baumgardner will be there as well, singing and playing guitar. .And there will be face painting.

Surrounded by her works, including a slew from last year’s Creatures From Left Field show at the Lakewood Cultural Center, Tanner should light up the night. The party runs from 8 to 11 p.m., at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 East 73rd Avenue, Unit 11. For more information, go to
www.lumonics.net.

 

 

Colorado Public Radio

Rebroadcast of Interview with Dorothy Tanner

Works By 92-Year-Old Sculptor Illuminate Denver Gallery Through Holidays 

BY STEPHANIE WOLF ON 12/15/2015 – 7:30AM – CPR.org

Driving around Denver this time of year, there’s no shortage of holiday lights. At Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, the space is lit up brighter than a Christmas tree nearly all year round. The Denver studio is dedicated to the work of sculptor Dorothy Tanner. The 92-year-old artist works with light, using materials like Plexiglas to bend and blend vibrant rays of color.

A new exhibition of her work is now on display at Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery through Dec. 30.

Tanner, who lives in Westminster, has been making art for more than 60 years, and says she’s never seriously considered retiring. “I like playing with stuff,” Tanner told CPR News
last June. “So why would I stop?”

 

 

COLORADO MATTERS
Colorado Public Radio
Staying Vital As Time Marches On: Art Can Hold The Key
Ryan Warner’s Interview with Dorothy Tanner

Dorothy Tanner speaks with young girl

“Light artist Dorothy Tanner speaks with 5-year-old Kaya Naslund about one of the “creature-like” sculptures featured in her current exhibition, ‘Creatures From Left Field,’ at the Lakewood Cultural Center.”
(photo by Corey H. Jones/CPR News)

“Sculptor Dorothy Tanner’s work is best seen in the dark. That’s because the [she] works with light, using materials like plexiglass to bend and blend vibrant rays of color. She’s been making art for more than 60 years.”

 

 

5280

 

Ready to escape the summertime heat or never-ending rain? These five indoor art exhibits can help.
BY DALIAH SINGER, senior associate editor, 5280 Magazine

Creatures From Left Field Installation by Dorothy Tanner,
June 4-30, Lakewood Cultural Center

For the first time, acclaimed sculptor Dorothy Tanner’s [Creatures] light sculptures are being exhibited as an exclusive installation. (The artist moved her studio to Denver in 2008.) The free-standing sculptures and wall hangings are crafted from acrylic and LED lights.

Bonus: Tanner is collaborating with David Taylor, artistic director and choreographer of the Zikr Dance Ensemble, on a ballet entitled The Lady of the Lake, which will premiere on June 6; the dancers will carry hand-held light sculptures made by the artist.

 

Westword

 

Gallery Sketches: Five Shows in Denver
for the Weekend of September 5-7

by Susan Froyd, Arts & Culture Editor at Westword

New Light Sculptures by Dorothy Tanner
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery
Opening reception: 7 to 10 p.m.
First Friday

Remarkable nonagenarian Dorothy Tanner is still creating new illuminated works using acrylic, LED lights — and sometimes water. Says the 91-year-old Tanner: “The major challenge for me in art is to keep under control the tyranny of a logical mind. The spirit that moves me is capricious, unruly and irreverent. Most of my work grows out of intuitive impulse — the rest gets under way by just playing.” This is a perfect chance to get into Tanner’s work and
visit her trippy Lumonics Studio.

 

 

 

Dorothy Tanner sitting in chair below Lumonics light sculpture

Thanks to EPIC Colorado Magazine for featuring Dorothy Tanner in the Spring, 2013 issue. The article is called “Electricity at Play: An Illuminating Conversation with Sculptor Dorothy Tanner” by Kelsey McMaster.

 

 

5280

Lumonics light sculpture

Visual Arts

Light Supply, Museum of Outdoor Arts

Light-focused exhibits are all the rage at galleries this summer, but the Museum of Outdoor Arts is mixing the theme up a bit for its 30th anniversary. Alongside light sculptures and projections by 13 local and national artists, the exhibit features an original soundscape created by Grammy Award-winning engineer Mickey Houlihan.

 

 

 

Westword

Light Supply Daily from Sat., June 25
until Sat., February 25

Let There Be Light
Susan Froyd

Artists from the metro area and across the nation will all be represented in Light Supply, a new offering opening today at the Museum of Outdoor Arts, which joins other local museums (the spring exhibit Blink! at the DAM and the MCA´s current show, Another Victory Over the Sun) in celebrating the use of light in art. Light Supply will naturally have its own personality, as does MOA director Cynthia Madden Leitner’s private labor of love in the Englewood City Center.

It just seems to be the theme of the year,” says the museum´s Tim Vacca of the exhibit, for which 90 percent of the venues lighting has been blocked to better showcase the glowing sculptures and wall pieces by such artists as Collin Parson, Jen Lewin, Andy Miller, Dorothy and Mel Tanner and others. But, he adds, the overall effect will be inviting: “You´ll see the glowing lights and be drawn into the gallery.” Or outdoors: MOA Wizard-in-Residence Lonnie Hanzon that will light up the museum´s sculpture garden every evening. Light Supply opens today at the MOA, 1000 Englewood Parkway, with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m., and continues through next
February. For details, go to www.moaonline.org or call 303-806-0444.

 

 

 

 

signage of exhibit at Vertigo Gallery: The Light Fantastic by Dorothy Tanner

 

Dorothy Tanner’s luminous sculptures light up the night at Vertigo
by Ben Dayton, Denver Westword Blogs
Sat., Oct. 16 2010

It was third Friday-time again last night, and at Vertigo Art Space, that means artist reception time. Though not as crazy as the first Friday gallery openings on Sante Fe, third Friday receptions often provide a more intimate and focused evening for art fans. Last night, Dorothy Tanner hosted her solo show, The Light Fantastic from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 960 Santa Fe Drive.

Tanner’s free-standing sculptures and wall hangings use acrylic and LED lights as main ingredients to create luminous experiences for the viewer. Of her work she says, “I create environments that make people high, which I like since getting high has been one of my principle occupations
in life.”

Of course, she’s right at home here in the Mile High City. Tanner recommends viewing the artworks in the evening so as to “experience the effect of light on the walls, people and the total space.”

The show will be on view through November 13th, and if you didn’t get a chance to make it out last night to say hi, make sure you at least cruise down Sante Fe Drive, between 9th and 10th Avenues one of these evening soon to catch a glimpse of the glowing sculptures through Vertigo’s large front windows. It will be a sight to see.

For more information, visit www.vertigoartspace.com 

 

 

 

Excerpts from Pre-Colorado:
Lumonics Installations, Gallery and Museum Exhibits

 “The key to so much of the art of Lumonics [is] light. The studio’s founders, Dorothy Tanner and her late husband, Mel, use light and acrylic the way painters use oil and canvas — as a primary medium for artistic expression.”
Michael Mills, New Times Broward Palm Beach

“If inner space is the last frontier, then Mel and Dorothy Tanner are its pioneers. They create an aesthetic experience unlike any other. A walk through the Lumonics Gallery is a bit like a tour of some futuristic spaceship. The plastic sculptures blink, drip, turn and glow. Like the Wizard of Oz behind a curtain, they create a separate reality.”
Barbara Marshall, Broward Close-up, Channel 2 (WPBT Public TV)

“Think of Dorothy and Mel Tanner as modern-day Timothy Learys. Their sound-and light-filled habitat, a Disneyland for the brain, is the only mind-altering substance they offer. Drop in, tune out, and turn on. The Tanners will take you to anywhere your brain desires.”
Tracie Cone, The Miami Herald
* Tracie Cone, Pulitzer Prize recipient, is now the publisher
of The Pinnacle News in the San Jose, CA area.

“If you are stumped as to what to do Saturday night, consider spending a visually stimulating, thoroughly entertaining, mind-expanding evening at Lumonics. Art and technology meet to
create a veritable shrine to the future’s possibility. It is a timely vision we should not fail to see.”
Alex Loret de Molac, New Miami Magazine

“As much as I relish the whole performance aspect of Lumonics, I welcome anything that expands the audience for the individual artworks in all their marvelous diversity.The art of Lumonics is 
first and foremost an experiential art. That’s only as it should be.”
Michael Mills, art writer, New Times Broward-Palm Beach
excerpted from introduction to Art of Lumonics
(Coral Springs Museum), Coral Springs, FL

“Imagine walking into another ‘civilization’ where verbal communication is kept limited and visual and audio communications are allowed to roam freely. This idea has come to life at Lumonics.”
The Chariot, Taravella High School, Coral Springs, FL

“You’ve heard of Pop Art, Op Art, and Kinetic Art. Mel and Dorothy Tanner create what could be called ‘Wow Art’. In truth, the Tanners do have a better term for their acrylic sculptures:  Lumonics.’ ”
Skip Sheffield, Boca Raton Daily News

“Contemporary Art at its most up-to-date…”
Millie Wolff, Palm Beach Daily News

“So what is it like? Words are inadequate; it is, after all, a non-verbal experience. Suffice it to say that emotions and the imagination are exercised in ways rarely experienced in everyday
life.”
Eric Furry, Sweet Potato, Bangor, Maine

 

 

Lumonics light sculptures on cover of Eastsider Magazine

article by Robin Shear, photos by Callie Zirkle
Eastsider, ©Forum Publishing Group

 

newspaper article with Lumonics light sculptures

 

Lumonics light sculptures

article by Michael Mills,  photos by Lannis Waters
©Palm Beach Post

 

article by Tracie Cone, photos by Joe Rimkus, Jr.
©The Miami Herald

Mel and Dorothy Tanner in front of projection wall at Lumonics

 

Mel and Dorothy Tanner in conversation at Lumonics

 

 

 

article by Jon Marlowe
©Miami News (1975)

Lumonics light sculptures on cover of magazine

Mel Tanner holding light sculpture with Dorothy Tanner in background

 

There are also reviews/articles on the Exhibitions pages.
Use the drop-down menu.

An article/review archive is also referenced on the Wikipedia page.