Client: Denver Arts & Venues

Overview

The Lumonics Mind Spa was located in the landmark McNichols Civic Center Building. The room was 40 ft x 50 ft x12 ft tall. It consisted of the wall and ceiling mounted light sculptures of Dorothy Tanner and Mel Tanner, and music and video by Dorothy Tanner and Marc Billard. The wall sculptures were made of plexiglas, and lighted internally with LEDs, except for one that was lighted externally. Other elements incorporated into the sculptures were paintings, fiber optics, and lumia.

Goals

The installation took place in the first floor Community Center. Dorothy Tanner's intention for this meditative environment was for attendees to experience new ways to stretch the body, expand the mind, and achieve greater spiritual awareness. Events included yoga, dance and music lessons, meetings, and live performances. The main requirement was that there would be no free-standing sculptures in the multi-purposed space. The Mind Spa was open 7 days a week and often in the evenings, including all of the events held in the McNichols Building. Original high-definition video was projected on the front wall, and looped, accompanied by an original meditative soundtrack by Tanner/Billard. Their video art was also projected during musical events.

Process

Shanna Shelby, the Program Administrator of the McNichols Building gave Dorothy Tanner and her studio associate and fabricator, Marc Billard, artistic freedom to curate the installation. Because of the City of Denver's insurance policy, the McNichols Building used a team of sub-contractors to hang the artwork. The team also prepared the room to Dorothy Tanner's specifications by painting the room gray and covering the windows with wood that was painted black.

Additional Information

The exhibit ran from January 13 to July 15, 2018. It was originally supposed to end in late May, but was extended to host the reception for the Americans for the Arts National Conference, 2018. The exhibit was also part of Denver's Happy City: Art for the People, a six-week, citywide project. It brought together more than 10 artists’ perspectives to address ideas of happiness and community wellness, in order to imagine a more connected society. The installation sites were located throughout Denver.