Jul 12

An Expanded Group Tour of Lumonics

The private event consists of a guided tour of one of the first and longest-running light art projects in the US. It concludes with a light and sound immersion. 

For Companies, Organizations, Friends, and Families

Up to 40 people
  $250 for 90 minutes
$300 for 120 minutes

Lumonics is a multisensory environment of light sculptures, video art projection, and  music. Your body is relaxed, and the right side of your brain (the creative, emotional side) is at full stimulation.  It is intended to bring you into a state of comfort and expanded awareness. 

Tour of the gallery, art studio, and the Lumonics School of Light Art

 brief history of Lumonics, among the first and longest-running light art projects in the United States

 light and sound immersion

 

The Light and Sound Immersion

Lumonics Immersed is an innovative approach to art and creativity, and can be a memorable and transformative experience. This one-of-a-kind experience that will leave you feeling inspired and energized.

We provide the setting so the audience members can exercise their imaginative powers and hopefully be inspired to go further in their endeavors.

The Elements:

 Mel and Dorothy Tanner’s Light Sculptures
Original Special Effects, Music, and Projection
 Lighting and the Effects Orchestrated Live by Lumonics’ Marc Billard

 

Lumonics is the creation of the late artists Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020)  and Mel Tanner (1925-1993).   Ms. Tanner was the recipient of the 2018 Denver Mayor’s Arts & Culture Award for Innovation in the Arts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Public Health Institute of Denver Health’s Engaging Youth Expertise for Prevention (“EYE for Prevention”) came to Lumonics for the expanded tour and immersion. The program strives to prevent the onset of substance use among Denver’s youth. The purpose of the program is to provide young people in the Denver area with a safe, inclusive space to explore different forms of art as healthy coping mechanisms.

Here is a group photo at the end of the field trip:

 

The field trip can be tailored to meet specific needs.

Contact Info for Details and Rates: Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery 800 E. 73 Ave., Unit 11 Denver, CO 80229 303.568.9406 www.lumonics.net  lumonics@gmail.com

 

Art and Well-Being

The relationship between art and wellness has been important to Lumonics since its inception in the 1960s..

Shanna Shelby, the Program Administrator at the McNichols Civic Center Building in Denver, when nominating Dorothy Tanner for the Denver Mayor’s Award for Innovation in the Arts in 2018, wrote about the increasing awareness of how art and mental health are connected: “Several panels at the national AFTA (Americans for the Arts) conference this year explored artistic approaches to community health. I believe that Dorothy’s vision is a prime example of how arts and wellness intersect and promote public health goals.”

 

“Through the years people have commonly reported having profound spiritual and emotional experiences while contemplating the Lumonics art pieces. It is possible that Lumonics is exerting its effect by creating an immersive experience that feels safe and soothing, but also stimulating and expansive.” Jomar P. Suarez, MD Therapeutic Potential of Lumonics

 

“When perceiving an artwork in-person, the brain is ‘lit up, by something akin to beams from a lamp’…seeing or making art can play a crucial role in healing our bodies and minds.” excerpted from the Lumonics blog about the book, Art That Heals by Pierre Lemarquis

 

“Scientific studies increasingly confirm what human beings across cultures and throughout time have long recognized: we are wired for art. The arts in all of their modalities can improve our physical and mental health, amplify our ability to prevent, manage, or recover from disease challenges, enhance brain development in children, build more equitable communities, and foster well-being.  The International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab)

Jun 15

Lumonics and the Summer Arts Program at Denver Health

Lumonics is excited to be part of the Summer Arts Program with the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. We are one of seven art workshops taking place weekly on Wednesdays in July and August. The program is initiated by Sedona Moreno-Castelan, in the Health Promotion Department at Public Health Institute at Denver Health.

The Public Health Institute of Denver Health’s Engaging Youth Expertise for Prevention (“EYE for Prevention”) program strives to prevent the onset of substance use among Denver’s youth. The purpose of the program is to provide young people in the Denver area with a safe, inclusive space to explore different forms of art as healthy coping mechanisms.

Lumonics hosted the first one on Wednesday, July 5th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. We gave a tour of our facility which includes the galleries, art studio, Lumonics School of Light Art, and conclude with a Lumonics immersive experience. Denver Health provided attendees with journals for them to express their thoughts and to sketch the light sculptures.

Jun 14

MOA Design & Build Program Coming to Lumonics




On June 19, 2023, Lumonics hosted this year’s interns attending the Museum of Outdoor Arts’ Design and Build Program. The Design and Build Program began in 1991, and is an opportunity for emerging artists, students and creative minds to express their creativity in collaborative art, architecture and design projects. The program generates temporary public art, exhibitions, installations and design concepts and offers lessons in collaborative teamwork, problem-solving and aesthetic and technical considerations. Since the inception of the program thousands of students throughout Colorado have collaborated on innumerable projects. Sites included Denver Union Station, Denver International Airport’s Peña Blvd., Cities of Englewood, Greenwood Village, Denver, Castle Rock, and Colorado Springs. * Tim Vacca is the Director of Programs & Communications.

We gave a tour including the gallery rooms, art studio, Lumonics School of Light Art, and the performance space, discussed the history of our project, and concluded with Lumonics Immersed.

 A recent article in the Washington Post discussed the Maker Movement which focused on workshops, mostly in San Francisco, that teach people how to work with their hands, and how they realize how gratifying it is.
Many attending are technology workers who sit in front of computer screens all day. Some companies set up classes to team-build. 

Comments by Participants at Workshops
“It’s tremendously grounding, and it’s meditative…” 
“had this deep sense of accomplishment, and it was so incredibly satisfying…”
“I like learning how to be competent at something. At the end of it — look, I have this thing,”
“You’re tapping into a history of human craftsmanship that’s been around for the entire existence of our species.”
“As people spend less time commuting, they have more time for hobbies, and more of a need for connection.”  


Lumonics School of Light Art, part of the Maker Movement
This kind of gratification is what Dorothy Tanner had in mind when she founded the Lumonics School of Light Art in 2018, shortly after she received the Denver Mayor’s award for Innovation in the Arts, and two years before she passed. A student makes a cube, electrifies it with an LED bulb, and then “artifies” it.

The cube has significance in the history of the Lumonics artform because it is one of the first lighted shapes created by the Tanners in the 1960s. You can read student comments and see many cubes that have been completed.

 Read our blog which links to the Post article.

Cube in the graphic was created by by Tim Vacca, one of the first attendees
of the Lumonics School of Light Art when it opened in 2018

Students constructing cubes at the Lumonics School of Light Art

* excerpted from the Design and Build webpage on the MOA website

Jun 05

June Lumonics Newsletter



An Evening of World Percussion with Lil Sum’n Sum’n and Friends
  Friday, June 9 
Concert begins at 8:30 pm
Doors open at 8 pm
Advance Tickets $20
Door $25



Featuring a Traditional Nepalese opening set from Bijay Shrestha (sitar) and Andy Skellenger (tabla) 
and then joined by David Hinojosa (guitar) and Gilly Gonzalez (percussion).

Closing the night will be a drum extravaganza with Lil Sum’n Sum’n. 
Gilly Gonzalez and Lisa Wimberger make up Lil Sum’n Sum’n, a duet born out of the collective projects of Kan’nal and Lunar Fire.
It is an improvisational psy-trance experience featuring a world beat made up of Middle Eastern, Afro-Cuban, African, and American
influences. Hang drums, tablas, doumbeks, dounouns, congas, shakers, udus, drones, ballaphones, and tap dancing drive rhythms that range from primal
dance to meditational journeying.

Light sculpture orchestration and projection by Marc Billard.

It all takes place within the ambiance of the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery.



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Join us for a captivating Immersive Jazz-Art Series on Friday, June 30!

Hugh Ragin and Friends present Sun Ra, Part 2
7 pm to 9:30 pm
$20 advance
$25 at door

 Hugh Ragin is a lecturer of Jazz Studies at the College of Music at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Raised in Houston, Texas, he began playing trumpet in his early teens, taking lessons in classical music;
he was also a member of the Houston All-City High School Orchestra.

Ragin earned a degree in music education from the University of Houston and a degree in classical trumpet performance
from Colorado State University. He continued his education in 1978 at the Creative Music Studio with Roscoe Mitchell.
A year later, he performed with Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith and the Creative Orchestra at the Moers Festival in Germany.
He then toured with Anthony Braxton.

During the early 1980s, Ragin toured with jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. He began an association with David Murray,
becoming a member of Murray’s band in the 1980s. Currently, Ragin is a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Ragin earned a DMA in jazz studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder and leads a variety of ensembles, master classes, and workshops.  

Janine Santana hosts the series. She is Artistic Director/Radio Personality at The Arts Validation Network and Leader/Conguera at Janine Santana Latin Jazz.

A popular on-air host at KUVO Denver for many years, Janine hosts Afternoon Jazz Mondays through Fridays from 3-6 pm Mountain Time on TAVN-Jazz.
https://tavn.org

“Janine Santana here…and I want to personally thank all who have attended our Jazz-Art Immersion events.
The response has been absolutely heart-warming!
Each event is unique, with different jazz musicians, a different film and an individualized light experience curated by Lumonics Gallery.
A percentage of any profit goes to support The Arts Validation Network (501c3), too!”  


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photo of section of Lumonics by Marc Billard

Lumonics Immersed
Saturdays at 8 pm Light artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner originated this multisensory experience in 1969.
 Although they have passed away, Lumonics continues to evolve as we stay true to the Tanners’ intention of utilizing the artform
to stimulate creativity, expand awareness,  provide a sense of comfort, and foster a sense of wonder.
Each performance is orchestrated live by Marc Billard, and never repeated.

 Dorothy Tanner and Mel Tanner are now included in the archives of Wikiart, the visual art encyclopedia, and have a Wikipedia page. 


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On June 19, Lumonics is excited to be hosting this year’s interns attending the the Museum of Outdoor Arts’ Design and Build Program.
This program began in 1991 and is an opportunity for emerging artists, students and creative minds to express their
creativity in collaborative art, architecture and design projects. We will be giving a tour, discussing the history of
our project, and concluding with an Immersive.


 + Students at the Lumonics School of Light Art A recent article in the Washington Post discussed the Maker Movement
 which focused on workshops, mostly in San Francisco, that teach people how to work with their hands, and how they realize how gratifying it is.
Many attending are technology workers who sit in front of computer screens all day. Some companies set up classes to team-build. 

Comments by Participants
“It’s tremendously grounding, and it’s meditative…” 
“had this deep sense of accomplishment, and it was so incredibly satisfying…”
“I like learning how to be competent at something. At the end of it — look, I have this thing,”
“You’re tapping into a history of human craftsmanship that’s been around for the entire existence of our species.”
“As people spend less time commuting, they have more time for hobbies, and more of a need for connection.”  

This kind of gratification is what Dorothy Tanner had in mind when she founded the Lumonics School of Light Art in 2018, shortly after she received
the Denver Mayor’s award for Innovation in the Arts, and two years before she passed. A student makes a cube, electrifies it with an LED bulb,
and then “artifies” it. You can read student comments and see many cubes that have been completed.

 Read our blog which links to the Post article.


Best wishes from Barry, Barbara, and Marc