May 18

From Sketch to Completion

Mel Tanner holding his glasses

photo of Mel Tanner in 1973 (1925-1993)

 

Mel Tanner (1925-1993) had many sketchbooks which we archive. He would often create several sketches until he decided which one to settle on and begin construction. He  would also use colored pencils as seen below.

This was in contrast to Dorothy Tanner who rarely drew. She was a hands-on person who liked to have a lot of material around to “play with.”

Here are some examples of the Mel Tanner drawings and the completed art works:

Sketches and Finished Art Works:

 

Free-standing sculpture with bubble on top and two pyramids facing each othersketch of free-standing sculpture of Mel Tanner with several bubbles

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free-standing sculpture with pyramid on topsketch of free-standing sculpture with pyramid on top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

free-standing sculpture with section of blue in the center

 

 

 

 

 

sketch of free-standing sculpture modular light sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sketch of wall sculpture of Mel Tanner in three sectionswall sculpture of Mel Tanner in three sections

 

 

 

 
 
 
   

 

 

Mel Tanner creating shapes on an easel
lighted ceiling and wall that reflect off each other. The wall has a large colorful shape

Mel Tanner, Commercial Installation, Sarasota, FL, 1976

 

 
 
 
 

 

Art teacher Max Beckmann making suggestion to studio

Brooklyn Museum Art School Catalog, 1950-1951
Max Beckmann (foreground), Mel Tanner (far right)
photo courtesy of the Special Library Collections
at The Brooklyn Museum
©1950

 

May 17

What’s Lumonics?

 

 

1.   Field Trips and Guided Tours for students of all ages of all ages

   
 
 
– From kindergarteners to seniors in assisted living (we are community partners with the Denver Public Schools Foundation) 
– For the developmentally challenged (we are community partners with Sample Supports)
– For people seeking a substance-free and sober experience (we are community partners with The Phoenix)
– For companies and organizations
 

2. Award-winning Lumonics Immersed on Fridays and Saturdays that originated in 1969 and continues to evolve, intended to energize and inspire attendees. 
 
 
 
 
3. Rental of Lumonics for private and public events
 
 
4. Lumonics Mind Spas that foster a state of relaxation and creativity:
For temporary or permanent private or public spaces. We welcome museum administrators, city planners, art consultants, architects, designers, and individuals to inquire. 
 
 
 
5. Art Classes at the Lumonics School of Light Art (students have ranged in age from 8 to 85, so far). We recommend the 6-hour class on a Sunday in which you take home your “artified” lighted cube. 
 
 
 


6.  Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery
The Gallery displays 75 light sculpture from a rotating collection of over 200 artworks by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner.  11 light sculptures from the collection have been selected as limited editions, and all are on display at the Gallery. Your purchase helps support the Lumonics Legacy Project. 

 

 

May 06

Denver Fringe Festival 2026

 

 

Lumonics Immersed
Denver Fringe Festival
Thursday, June 4- Sunday, June 7

Lumonics is a multisensory immersive experience presented by one of the first and longest-running light art projects in the US. The late Light and Space artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner originated this highly-acclaimed transformative art experience in 1969, and it continues to evolve. Engage with 75 light sculptures in rotation from a collection of over 200 works. The elements of the experience are the light sculptures, music, special effects, and projection. Each performance is new and orchestrated live.

“Best Long-Running Immersive Experience”
– Denver Westword

 

Tickets are $20 and the price is set by The Denver Fringe Fest for all fetival tickets.

Thursday, June 4:   8 pm to 10 pm

Friday, June 5:   8 pm to 10 pm

Saturday, June 6:   1 pm to 3 pm

Saturday, June 6:   8 pm to 10 pm

Sunday, June 7:   1 to 3 pm

Sunday, June 7:   8 to 10 pm

 

 

 

 

Lumonics is honored to be accepted to participate in the 2026 Denver Fringe Festival that takes place June 4 thru June 7, 2026. 

We will be presenting performances of Lumonics Immersed  during those 4 days at the Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery. Each performance is orginal and not repeated.

The annual Fringe festival

Denver’s thriving arts scene is overflowing with talent and innovation. Our goal is to provide more outlets every year so artists to have a way to test their work, try new things, push the boundaries. And we want to channel that work into performance venues at accessible prices so that live performance is available to as many people as possible. We do this every June at our annual Fringe festival that features dozens of fresh, original shows at venues throughout the RiNo Art District, the greater Five Points area and beyond.

At the Denver Fringe Festival, we believe that the power of performance art can’t be overstated, that it’s a key component to inspiring thought-provoking conversations and building thriving communities. That’s why the Fringe also features free pop-up performances so everyone can experience live performing arts!

What does the future of the Denver Fringe look like? Picture a weeks-long festival with live performance taking place at dozens of creative spaces, with theater, comedy shows, dance, cabaret, and circus happening at any hour of the day or night —an annual performing arts festival so inclusive and expansive that we can’t imagine summer in Denver without it!
* excerpted from www.denverfringe.org/

* poster by Joe Palec

 

 

Apr 26

How We Create the Music and Visuals at Lumonics

The source material for the projection comes from an archive of imagery that late artists Dorothy and Mel Tanner originated at the Lumonics Light and Sound Theatre in Miami in 1969, and continues to this day in our performances of Lumonics Immersed here in Denver. The Tanners’ light sculptures also play an important role. We think of the art pieces as the “Lumonics Light Orchestra”.

 

Here are some of the components of the projection:

1. Hand-painted 35 mm slides by Dorothy and Mel Tanner, a process that began in 1969 in the original Lumonics Light and Sound Theatre in Miami, FL and ended upon Mel’s death in 1993. Hundreds of these slides are in our archives and have been digitized. Here are some examples:

 

 

2. Lumonics video productions from 1978 until present that included the late Dorothy Tanner, Mel Tanner, and engineer John Hall, and Marc Billard who continues the productions at Lumonics Immersed and orchestrates the Lumonics Light Orchestra live.

3. Colorado car rides and hikes, from urban to rural areas, which Marc Billard records and produces. Mountains, streams, forests, streets and roads are the source material. Marc then transforms the imagery in production, and adds an original soundtrack. We think of the finished productions as “alchemized nature films”. No AI is involved!

The photos below are examples of some of the source material.

 

These photos are of Marc Billard using his 360 camera with a selfie stick and also his mobile phone camera to record in the mountains of Colorado. (along Peak to Peak Highway and the St. Vrain River):

 

 

One of the videos shown at Lumonics Immersed, Mountain Meditation 3 by Marc Billard,was accepted in the upcoming Tilting West: Defining A New Legacy Exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. The exhibit opens June 3 and ends on August 23, 2026. We hope you can see the exhibit. Here is an excerpt:
 

 

The music is a collaboration of Dorothy Tanner and Marc Billard (Tanner/Billard) that began in 1994 and ended upon Dorothy’s passing in 2020. Marc continues to produce music (and visuals) for Lumonics Immersed. The songs are produced using sound samples of instruments and voices from around the world, keyboards, and also can include some of Dorothy’s spoken word (Cosmic Rap).