Join us for a 3D paint & sip with family and friends in celebration of Women's History Month!
For Women’s History Month, we’re paying homage to an early 3D technology pioneer and African American inventor, Valerie Thomas. Join us for a paint & sip with family and friends in celebration of illusionary art. We will learn all about the visual cortex of the brain and how it fuses red and blue color variations into the perception of a three-dimensional scene or composition.
Valerie Thomas was a scientist and inventor who patented the 1980 illusion transmitter for NASA. She was inspired by a museum exhibit featuring an illusion that involved concave mirrors and light bulbs and wanted to incorporate this illusion in her work. The illusion transmitter is early 3D technology that transmits an optical illusion of a 3D image between the mirrors, appearing real on the receiving end. NASA continues to use her technology to this day.
This program is supported, in part, by Science Sandbox, Matisse Foundation, AT&T, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens, New York State Council on the Arts, Queens Borough President, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council.