May 03

Lumonics Legacy Project Aims to Keep Immersive Pioneers’ Vision Alive by Teague Bohlen, Westword

 

Lumonics Gallery and Performance Space on 73rd and Washington…for now.  Marc Billard

Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery has been around for decades, ever since artists Mel and Dorothy Tanner started working with light sculptures and sound to create immersive experiences back in 1969. Dubbed “Lumonics,” the unique art form was conceived to engage multiple senses — primarily sight and sound — simultaneously, providing audiences a deeper connection to the work and the world around it.

Barry Raphael and Marc Billard became part of the Lumonics artist collective in 1972, when they separately encountered what the Tanners were already deeply into. “It started for me when I walked into the Tanners’ gallery in Miami,” recalls Raphael, who was the first to join the collective. “I was a language arts teacher in Chicago at the time, and a friend of mine was splitting his time between Chicago and working down at Dade Community College. He told me about it, and I went. It was like the ultimate field trip for me. It was an amazing moment, seeing the theater the Tanners had set up and everything in it. My friend was thinking of trying to move it back up to Chicago, but that never happened. I never set out to move to Miami, but it’s just the way it happened. The experience had mesmerized me.”

“And I was working construction at the time in South Florida,” adds Billard. Mel Tanner’s sister was his neighbor at the time, and she’d told him he should go and check it out. It took him about a year to do so, but when he did, Billard says his reaction was remarkable. “Oh, my God,” he says. “I was speechless.” Mel asked him if he wanted to do some work with him. That was the beginning of Billard (along with his wife, Barbara, who passed away in the summer of 2023) working with the Lumonics collective, building many of the pieces from then on.

“It was Marc’s arrival and all his wonderful work that was really the first expansion point back then,” Raphael says. “He was able to create larger pieces with more detail, and that’s what Mel [Tanner] was working for.”

Mel was working with simple shapes before,” says Billard. “When I came in and got my fingers in it, it was able to become very different. Wall pieces and sculptures. New designs. It changed.”

 

Barry Raphael and Marc Billard have helped represent Lumonics for over fifty years

They brought the Tanners’ artistic legacy to Denver in 2008, where it’s resided ever since, and Raphael and Billard are working to ensure that the exhibitions survive and thrive for many years to come. They still put on immersive shows every Saturday night at the Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery, 800 East 73rd Avenue; tickets are still only $25, are limited to a small, intimate group only, and include refreshments as well as illumination. Tickets for that event and several others are available through Eventbrite.

Friends of Lumonics Legacy Project

But in terms of the future of the project, Raphael and Billard have started the Lumonics Legacy Project in association with Spotfund. They hope to raise $30,000 in order to preserve more than 200 Tanner light sculptures, as well as the Lumonics archives, which include collages, sketchbooks, hand-painted 35-millimeter slides, original projector tray paintings, preserved media articles, photographs and an expanding library of music visuals. In addition to raising money for creating a sustainable legacy and future, the crowdfunding effort plans to establish a Friends of Lumonics nonprofit, which will support partnerships to share Lumonics with the world.

“We’re in our seventies now,” smiles Raphael, “and are deeply committed to seeing this work remain accessible for future generations. What was once a collective of seven is down to just us two, but we have friends who’ve volunteered to help us create this Legacy Project.”

Specifically, Raphael hopes that the project will allow Lumonics to bring more than 100 pieces out of storage and work on restoring them, with more environmentally sound and long-lasting LED technologies, while still keeping within Mel and Dorothy Tanner’s original vision.

Raphael says that the final step of the Legacy Project would be for the whole collection and gallery to move one more time.

 

Apr 20

First-graders from Highpoint Academy come to Lumonics

We hosted first-graders from Highpoint Academy today, part of the Denver Public School System. I always get a kick out of asking them if they have any questions, and the first one to raise his hand says, “Omm,I forgot my question.” I do that, too!

www.lumonics.net/field-trips

Apr 17

From the Archives: Lumonics’s opening exhibit in The Galleri at Meow Wolf Denver’

 

 

“The Light Art of Dorothy and Mel Tanner”
The Galleri
Meow Wolf Denver
Sept 17, 2021 – Feb 20, 2022

 

We truly appreciated working with the team at MW Denver! This is the exhibit flyer they designed:

 

 

Pictures from an Exhibition 
Photos by Marc Billard/Lumonics

 

 

 

 

 

 

exhibit webpage

 

Our new Lumonics Legacy Project:

To ensure the continuation of Lumonics and preserve the remarkable works created by its founders, Mel and Dorothy Tanner.

www.lumonics.net/legacy

Apr 17

Eternal Light Fundraiser for The Lumonics Legacy Project

Saturday, April 27
8 pm to 12 midnight
$20 suggested donation
$25 at the door (suggested donation)
Complimentary refreshments

 

 

You are welcome to make an additional donation at the event!

Eternal Light is the first fundraiser for the Lumonics Legacy Project which aims to protect and preserve more than 200 light sculptures created by the late Mel and Dorothy Tanner, the founders of Lumonics. The money raised will help create a sustainable legacy and future, establishing a Friends Of Lumonics non-profit, and ultimately creating partnerships to share this art with the world.

We truly appreciate Nate Lappegaard (DJ Ishe), Ginger Perry, L.A. Zwicky, and Nicole Douglas for organizing this gathering.

Ginger Perry is a veteran open-format DJ from Denver with a strong affinity for darker tracks and a deep knowledge of what it takes to ignite a party atmosphere.

L.A. Zwicky is a Denver-based DJ and artist. On the scene since 2010, L.A.’s DJ sets cut across genres of contemporary globe-trotting electronic music weaving together unique finds alongside sparkly dance-worthy tunes to bring you a multi-genre party experience that will leave your hearts pumping and your body moving.

Nicole Douglas is a welcomed sound healing practitioner here in Colorado. Her Integral Sound Healing approach is particularly effective at triggering your body’s relaxation response, which can help alleviate the symptoms of chronic stress and promote balance throughout your entire being.

DJ Ishe, also known by his real name Nate Lappegaard, stands as an influential figure in the US electronic music scene, with a notable presence in genres such as dubstep, drum and bass (DNB), and breaks. His extensive body of work, which includes over 100 tracks since 2008, is more than a testament to his skill as a musician. It serves as an homage to the rich, diverse origins of electronic music, acknowledging the varied communities that have contributed to its evolution and vibrancy.

Central to Ishe’s ethos is a strong commitment to elevating voices that have historically been marginalized within the music industry. This commitment extends beyond his musical creations into the realm of advocacy, aiming for a future where the electronic music industry celebrates and reflects the diversity of its artistic community. Through his efforts, Ishe seeks to foster a more inclusive electronic music scene that honors its global influences and roots.

Ishe is not merely an artist pushing genre boundaries but also a pivotal advocate for change, championing a vision for the electronic music scene that is as diverse and eclectic as its history warrants. By balancing respect for the past with advocacy for a more inclusive future, Ishe solidifies his role as a seminal figure in the ongoing evolution of electronic music across the US.

Lumonics is among the first and longest-running light art projects in the U.S. The essence of Lumonics is in its ability to inspire creativity and elicit a profound sense of wonder. We will be concluding the evening with a Lumonics Immersed, orchestrated live by Marc Billard.

“We are honored to present the most-up-to date 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 evolve. We are gratified to not only continue the art form but to [evolve it]. The audience members are also collaborators as they take this multisensory journey with us.”
– Barry Raphael and Marc Billard
excerpted from interview with Meow Wolf after our exhibit in The Galleri ended, and we began Lumonics Immersed at our Gallery/Theater
https://meowwolf.com/blob/denver-artist-projects

More info about the Lumonics Legacy Project:
https://lumonics.net/legacy

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you!