Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection
Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection
November 27, 2020 – January 30, 2021
The Lumonics Mind Spa is a concept developed by Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020) who wanted her light sculptures and those of her late husband Mel Tanner to be experienced as a total art installation that fosters a state of comfort, relaxation, and creativity. The art work will be seen from several windows of the Understudy Gallery at the intersection of Stout and 14th Street in the Denver Theatre District, with each angle of gazing providing another perspective. Understudy Gallery is adjacent to the Convention Center RTD stop and viewable to all from the train. It is truly a Light Intersection..
Public Hours: This is a “fishbowl” style installation you can view anytime from the outside, but it is best experienced after dark.
Understudy is free-to-visit and open to all.
Biographies of Dorothy Tanner, Mel Tanner, and Marc Billard
Lumonics is among the earliest and longest-running light art studios in the United States, originating in 1967.
Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020) was born in The Bronx, NY. She attended the Educational Alliance, Jefferson School of Social Science, and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Her instructors included Chaim Gross, Gabor Peterdi, and Milton Hebald. While experimenting with many materials in her career, Dorothy found plexiglass to be the most rewarding. It is a material that she would sculpt, paint, sandblast, bake and shape. Light is an intrinsic element of the art form. While each sculpture stands alone as an artistic expression, her interest was also in integrating the works into a total environment — installations that express a powerful visual and emotional sensibility.
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Mel Tanner (1925-1993) was born in Brooklyn, NY. After serving overseas in the Army during the Second World War, he enrolled in art school under the G.I. Bill. He attended Pratt Institute and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. His background was in drawing and non-objective painting. His instructors included Max Beckmann, John Ferren, and Reuben Tam. Mel and Dorothy Tanner began their luminal art in Miami in the 1960s, adding the elements of live projection, electronics, and music to create a multi-sensory experience named Lumonics, with the intention to deeply affect people on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels: to relax, energize, and foster a sense of well-being.
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Marc Billard was born in Norwalk, CT in 1949. He is an artist, craftsman, videographer, musician, and curator. His videos have been shown at Night Lights Denver, Denver Digerati 2020, the Supernova Digital Animation Festival, The McNichols Civic Center Building, Museum of Outdoor Arts, Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, and the Arts & Culture Center, Thornton. In addition to creating the video component of the Lumonics Mind Spa: Light intersection at Understudy Gallery, he also is curating this installation.
“The highway from constructing physical art work (1972 to present) to video art work (1994 to present) has been a fulfilling journey for me. Many of the video works have been in collaboration with Mel and Dorothy Tanner, using techniques based on the 50-year history of Lumonics and its live multi-media installations.”
Visit any of the websites below to learn more about Lumonics and see more art:
www.instagram.com/lumonicsgallery
https://www.instagram.com/lumonics.lightart.school
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Understudy is located at the Colorado Convention Center / Theatre District light rail stop near 14th and Stout. Look for the Shantell Martin art bench.
