Bridging the Atomic Age and the Information Age, the Space Age stands out as a revolutionary period of design history when science fiction became reality and designers made reality of imagination. In this lecture join Space Age design expert Martin McGee as he explores the myriad of prescient products that reflected the technology and materials driving the race to space, and how WNY-based Bell Aerospace’s “Bell Rocket Belt” was one of the most iconic symbols of the audacious time.

Martin McGee researches, writes about and curates exhibits on the Space Age period of design.  A Buffalo native and graduate of SUNY Binghamton, Martin is an independent media producer and creative consultant.  He worked in Japan for most of the 1980s where he met his wife, Junko and first became interested in design.  As a community activist, he led the effort to restore the Japanese Garden behind the Buffalo History Museum in the mid-1990s and was instrumental in the 2006 Dalai Lama visit at the University of Buffalo.  He currently serves as Vice President of the Buffalo Niagara Nikola Tesla Council, a non-profit organization with a mission to raise awareness about Tesla’s greatest contribution to humanity- the technology behind alternating current power.