Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection

Understudy Denver

Located in the Colorado Convention Center at 890 C 14th Street. Understudy is operated, curated, and funded by the Denver Theatre District.

November 27, 2020-January 30, 2021

Admission: Free

Review by Mary Grace Bernard

Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection is bringing much-needed color and light to downtown Denver. The exhibition presents works by Dorothy Tanner (1923-2020) and Mel Tanner (1925-1993)—an artist couple who dedicated their life and art practice to the immersive experiences of visual art and to promoting the importance of physical, emotional, and spiritual awareness.

A view of the exhibition Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection on display at Understudy in downtown Denver. A passing light rail train appears on the right. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions. — A view of the exhibition *Lumonics Mind Spa: Light Intersection* on display at Understudy in downtown Denver. A passing light rail train appears on the right. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions.

While Lumonics Mind Spa has been on view in other art spaces around Denver (including a 2018 exhibition at the McNichols Civic Center Building), the show’s current iteration at Understudy forges an atmosphere not seen elsewhere. [1] The luminous Plexiglas sculptures interact and intersect with Understudy’s “fishbowl” viewing experience as light reflections from pedestrians and vehicles go by. These outside elements add a fourth dimension to the artworks and space, creating a completely new form of looking. The entire ambiance is reminiscent of 1960’s and 1970’s “liquid light shows.”

An example of a liquid light show projected onto performers. Image courtesy of Liquid Light Lab / Steve Pavlovsky.

Liquid light shows are a form of light art that surfaced in the 1960’s as accompaniments to electronic music and avant-garde theatre performances. They were later adapted for performances of rock and especially psychedelic music. The main purpose of liquid light shows was (and still is) to create multicolored, kaleidoscopic, mind-expanding atmospheres for performers and audience members alike.

Mel Tanner, Paradigm, 1975, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions. — Mel Tanner, *Paradigm*, 1975, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions.

Mel Tanner, Dreamzone (detail), 1990, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions. — Mel Tanner, *Dreamzone* (detail), 1990, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions.

Works such as Mel Tanner’s Paradigm (1975) and Dreamzone (1990) are especially evocative of liquid light show projections. The brightly colored Plexiglas components in teal, blue, magenta, chartreuse, red, and yellow, shaped into circles of various sizes, recall the droplets of color poured onto the clear slides placed on light projectors that cast colors and patterns onto performers. A few of the larger circles in Paradigm (1975), where the colors mix together, form mini psychedelic light shows.

Dorothy Tanner, Greenpiece (detail), 2016, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions. — Dorothy Tanner, *Greenpiece* (detail), 2016, Plexiglas and LED lights. Image courtesy of Third Dune Productions.

According to the Lumonics website, “while each sculpture stands alone as an artistic expression, [the artists’] interest was to also integrate the works into a total environment—installations that express a powerful visual and emotional sensibility.” [2] Similar to the purpose of liquid light shows, Dorothy and Mel Tanner believed that artworks should manifest a multiple sensory atmosphere that heightens emotional, physical, and spiritual awareness to “relax, energize, and foster of sense of well-being” in the body and mind. [3] As such, they created artworks that promote a full body-mind experience of joy, excitement, and wonder.

Last year, Dorothy Tanner passed away at the age of 97. Originally from New York City, the artist moved to Denver in 2008, fifteen years after her husband passed away. Here she opened a Lumonics Art Gallery and School of Light Art. Starting in 1990, Dorothy collaborated with Marc Billard—a craftsman, artist, videographer, photographer, curator, and musician—to create exotic music involving textures, percussive effects, world instruments, and vocals that accompanied Dorothy’s luminous sculptures and vibrant video art. [4]

Mary Grace (MG) Bernard is a (dis)abled emerging artist, independent curator, and art writer living and working in New Orleans and Denver. She lives with cystic fibrosis, a chronic illness that informs her daily art and writing practices. She combines art theory and art practice in an effort to break down binaries and the relationships between the public and private spheres of experience. MG is the Founder & Director of Femme Salée, an innovative online art journal and zine dedicated to the voices working within exceptional art communities.

[1] Lumonics Mind Spa also held an exhibition at The Storeroom in 2019, which included new works by Dorothy Tanner in addition to School of Light Art student artworks.

[2] “Dorothy Tanner Biography” via https://lumonics.net/dorothy-tanner-bio. Accessed January 13, 2021.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Barry Raphael, “The Music and Visuals of Tanner/Billard” via https://lumonics.net/tannerbillard. Accessed January 13, 2021.