Dec 17
young girl gazing at Chakra by Dorothy Tanner
photo by Rory Clow
Family looking at Flora by Mel Tanner
photo by Rory Clow
Arnie Meranski in the center of the three people conversing, is the organizer of this exhibit in Steamboat Springs
photo by Rory Clow
Dec 12
Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marc Billard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
While working as a carpenter in South Florida, my neighbor Jocelyn Tanner told me about her brother, Mel Tanner, who was a light artist and produced an event called Lumonics with his wife Dorothy. I had the address in my wallet for quite a while, and when I decided to visit, the address was hard to make out because of my daily perspiration from construction! But I was able to figure it out, and once I saw their artwork, I was mesmerized. They told me they were looking for someone to assist them and after a short apprenticement in the evenings, I began to work full-time crafting their art works. I was also able to create motorized trays, lenses, and laser fixtures for the multi-sensory experiences they produced. I have been part of the project ever since!
panoramic photo of section of Gallery at Lumonics by Marc Billard
Lumonics is among the first and longest-running light art projects in the US.
I am most proud of continuing the multi-sensory art form that the late founders of Lumonics, Dorothy and Mel Tanner, originated in 1969. I create original music, visuals, and special effects for the Lumonics Immersed production that we present every Saturday at our location in Denver. We also have a field trip program for students of all ages, and a guided tour for seniors.
I also reproduce selected light sculptures of the Tanners as limited editions, and curate Lumonics art exhibits.
panoramic photo of performance space at Lumonics by Marc Billard
The goal of our project is to find a permanent location to house over 200 light sculptures. More than half the collection is currently in storage. It would also include our Lumonics School of Light Art, a working shop, and a performance space where we would work on automating the immersive performances.
photo of Lumonics installation at Meow Wolf Denver by Marc Billard
Lumonics founders Dorothy and Mel Tanner are both now deceased: Mel in 1993, and Dorothy in 2020. When Dorothy passed away at the age of 97, my longtime teammate at Lumonics, Barry Raphael and I decided to re-invent the multi-sensory performances that Lumonics is know for, which began in 1969. We call it Lumonics Immersed. We can’t duplicate the live performances of the Tanners, but we create the vibe.
We reset the performance space, converted many pieces to LED so it could run on a DMX system, and upgraded our whole projection system. I also created many hours of visual music for the performances. It has a great impact on attendees of all ages.
One person wrote this Google review:
“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.”
Contact Info:
photo of installation at Understudy Gallery by Third Dune Productions
photo of installation at Meow Wolf Denver by Marc Billard
photo of Lumonics Immersed pop-up installation at The Dairy Center by Drew Austin
photo of Marc Billard by Barry Raphael
Dec 10
the photo of Marc and I was not taken in the new Boathouse installation. I am in front of Dorothy Tanner’s Enigma at Lumonics and Marc didn’t want me to smile when he took the photo. He was right…I like it. I took the photo of Marc when he was standing in front of a staircase but later he put himself in front of one of the digital images he created for the performances…which probably started as one of the hand-painted slides created by the Tanners. Nov 25
