Feb 05

“Jazz: Colorado’s Hugh Ragin playing Sun Ra” (Denver Post)

Thanks to Bret Saunders of the Denver Post for this article:
“Jazz: Colorado’s Hugh Ragin playing Sun Ra”

Here are a few excerpts:

Hugh Ragin, as brilliant a trumpeter as he is a dedicated educator, greeted me at Englewood’s Colorado Jazz Workshop on a Saturday afternoon in January. He had just finished a day’s worth of rehearsing three different bands, yet he was eager to speak with me on a subject with which we were mutually enthusiastic: the bandleader, pianist and cosmic traveler known as Sun Ra.

First, a bit of background on Ragin. He’s made Colorado his home for decades, but has frequently traveled the world, sharing the stage with luminaries as varied as Anthony Braxton and Maynard Ferguson. Even though he’s wholeheartedly local, he’s a member of one of the world’s most distinguished creative music groups, The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Listen to last year’s “The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris,” and get a profound sense of his sonic accomplishments. Ragin is also Dr. Ragin now, after recently obtaining his doctorate of musical arts from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Ragin, who performed with Sun Ra and his big band, known as the Arkestra, in New York decades ago, is still in awe of Ra’s sophisticated music and profound philosophies.   

Ragin and friends will perform selections from Sun Ra’s expansive catalog at Denver’s Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery on Feb. 16 and March 15.

“He had this presence, this consciousness; the whole ‘big picture’ consciousness he lays on you,” he says of Ra, who died in 1993.

“It will be a multimedia presentation,” Ragin said of the upcoming Lumonics Gallery shows. “We’re definitely fusing everything. There are some fascinating Sun Ra (video) clips.”

Ragin let out a joyful “Ooooooh!,” adding, “Sun Ra will nudge you out to the universe, but he also knows how to bring you home.”


Hugh Ragin and Friends present:
The Sun Ra Project

Friday, Feb 16, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024

7 pm to 9:30 pm
$20 advance
$25 at door

Get Tickets


“The Sun Ra tribute is designed to connect the audience with an experience of listening by vibrating a deeper understanding of cosmic mathematics, or intelligence, rooted in the science of music, color and healing. In other words: the artist will provide a message piece in a very colorful setting.”
– Hugh Ragin, recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Five Points Jazz Festival.

Feb 04

Excerpts from  Papers  Written by High School Students Attending Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning


Eric N. Dingel,  ScienceTeacher, at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, has been returning with his new students for the past several years.

Mr. Dingel sent us the papers the students wrote about their recent field trip to Lumonics

Students from the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning

Photo I took of one of one of the student’s sketches of the front wall of Lumonics

Here are some excerpts from their papers:

The calming atmosphere was really nice and helped me step away from my thoughts for a while. Overall, the experience was well worth it and I’d love to do it again at some point in my life. It helped me think about my life in a different light.

My experience was relaxing and stimulating. I’m glad you get to show off Mel and Dorthy’s [sic) collection. I appreciate the time you took to make that video and all of the time that was put in to make those lumonics.

Firstly, thank you for sharing such an interesting light show and the history behind the art form. The depth behind how influential these creations were was very interesting to me. As an artist seeing such unique sculptures was both inspiring and exciting. The light show was particularly intruiging [sic] to me.

I personally found the film projection that we watched particularly interesting. After asking how exactly it is made, I began to spiral down a rabbit hole of thought.

I really enjoyed how all aspects of the art blended with each other. Please continue doing what you’re doing!

Something that I took out is that no matter how hard the project you’re working on might be, staying patient and staying passionate will make anything feel more “fun”.

The thing that was most striking to me about Lumonics was the unique and original shapes of the artwork. No piece was exactly the same. Thank you especially to Marc and Barry who are keeping the legacy of Mel and Dorothy Tanner’s art alive. This was a very cool experience that I will remember for a long time.

I really appreciated the experience you offer to the public and, more specifically, our class. The art on display in your museum is unlike art I’ve seen before. I especially loved the cat art dispursed [sic] throughout the rooms.

Feb 02

Thanks to Meow Wolf Denver for Writing about Lumonics in its “BLOB”.

ART

Collab Artists in the Denver Wilderness
by ELISE TRIVERS, Feb 1, 2023

If you’ve ever left Meow Wolf Denver wondering about the artists, here’s a list of where to see their art outside of our walls.

Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery

Lumonics. Photo by Marc Billard

Lead artist of Postscript – @lumonicsgallery‍

Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery was the first exhibiting artist at Galleri Gallery, our rotating gallery space on C Street, back when we opened in September of 2021. Now, a piece called Postscript permanently lives in the exhibit above travelers near the Noodle Bar. The artform developed by Lumonics is a multisensory experience combining light, sculpture and sound. 

“We are honored to present the latest 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 continue to evolve. We are gratified to not only continue the art form but to see that it is evolving and continues to impact audiences. The audience members are also collaborators as they take this multisensory journey with us.”

Each Saturday, Lumonics opens their gallery space to the public for a ticketed immersive experience that honors the vision of their late original founders, Dorothy and Mel Tanner.

‍Collaborators: Dorothy and Mel Tanner (departed). Lumonics was once a team of seven but over the past 50 years, five have passed away, most recently Barbara Billard.

Jan 24

The Elements of Lumonics Immersed

 

 

Everything Fun to Do in Denver This Weekend
Arts & Entertainment Events 
By Allyson Reedy

Lumonics Immersed
Tickets: From $15

The Lumonics Gallery is one of the longest running light art studios in the country, and you might have seen the light sculptures at places like Meow Wolf and Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. This Saturday, check out Lumonics Immersed, a light and sound performance intended to free creative energy and bring you into a state of comfort and expanded awareness.

 

A 2-minute video of Its Elements:

  The Light Sculptures of Dorothy and Mel Tanner 
A rotating display of 75 light sculptures from a collection of over 200 from the past 50+ years

 The Lumonics Light Orchestra, Original Special Effects and Visual Music

  Lighting and the Effects Orchestrated Live by Lumonics’ Marc Billard

 


 

“Art should be something that liberates your soul, provokes the imagination, and encourages people to go further.”
– Keith Haring
That has been the intention of Lumonics since its inception in 1969.

 

Get Tickets

Lumonics Immersed 

Location: Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, Denver

When: Saturday

Time: Doors open at 7:45 pm.
Performance begins at 8:15 pm.
Event ends at 10:00 pm.
$15-25

Pre- and Post- Immersion: Explore the artworks in the front gallery rooms, the performance space, and the Studio/Lumonics School of Light Art 

Description:  “Experience a multi-sensory journey that refreshes your body, mind and spirit. The gallery’s Lumonics Immersed installation was originally created by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner, pioneering light artists whose singular style fuses elements of light, music, and sculptures to produce captivating experiences for the audience.”
 Denver Westword