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.
Galactic Trio (1983) by Mel Tanner is one of the newest additions in the performance space at Lumonics, and can be seen at Lumonics Immersed on Saturday evenings and at theImmersive Jazz-Art Experience, hosted by Janine Santana on the last two Fridays of the month.
Galactic Trio, a lighted wall sculpture, looks two-dimensional from a distance, but as you get closer and also look at it from an angle, you notice how three-dimensional it is, and how the colors change upon close viewing.
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.
“Sculptor Dorothy Tanner’s work is best seen in the dark. That’s because the 92-year-old 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.” Ryan Warner, Colorado Public Radio
Stephanie Wolf produced the interview with Dorothy Tanner.
Ryan Warner and Dorothy Tanner
Jabberwocky by Dorothy Tanner
“Light artist Dorothy Tanner, 92, 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) (2015)
In the mid-1970s, 2 students from Miami Beach High School, David Chesky and Bill Borkan, came to Lumonics after school one day to introduce themselves. I thought of them as whiz kids.
David played a Mini-Moog Synthesizer, and soon after we met him, composed some music for one of our Lumonics performances. He went on to become a composer of avant-garde music in New York City, founded an ensemble, and the record company he started, Chesky Record is still going strong. We are still in touch with David.
Bill loved electronics and music, and was a radio DJ for a popular jazz station in Miami while still in high school. Bill was totally devoted to his younger sister, Jenny, who had cerebral palsy. He asked us to made a sandwich holder for Jenny which made eating so much easier for her. After all, acrylic glass (plexiglass) was and is an industrial material before artists discovered it, and you can make many “practical” things with it.
We lost track of both of them, and we left South Florida for quite a few years. After we lived in San Diego, Bangor, Maine, and Boston, we returned to Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami.
A few years after Mel Tanner died (1993), Bill surprised us with a visit. We had a lot of catching up to do! He told us he graduated from Carnegie-Mellon, and invented a device to benefit his sister that would send an electrical signal to relax the spine . It was so effective that it was used in hospitals all over the world. He became very wealthy.
Bill commissioned Dorothy to create a large lighted wall sculpture for his new home. Dorothy told him that she works with external lighting, and he should select one of Mel’s wall pieces. He was emphatic that he wanted Dorothy to create it The result was a triptych, named Triptic, which was 10′ high and 24′ wide.
Prior to this, Dorothy had not created an internally lighted sculpture, not wanting to do the same thing as Mel, although they did collaborate.
We had a lot of plans with Bill as it was so good to be in touch again. He spent a good part of the year in Hawaii and had a small shopping center with a theater that he wanted us to get involved with.
Out of the blue, he had a heart attack and died. We found out recently that Jennie is now 57.
Since Triptic was made, Dorothy has created many internally lighted sculptures, both free-standing and wall sculptures.
