As of August 27th, 201, the Sponge HQ is launched. The opening was hivelike with multiple and multidisciplinary goings-on. On the projection screen was  Imago Dei, a video by Matt Flowers with sound by Stephen Vitiello and Molly Berg with Joshua Quarles.  A video of Max Goldfarb and Allyson Strafella’s bees was tucked into Max’s Hive 05, a customized top bar beehive with an infrared security camera.  In April, a hive of bees will move in and their busy labors will be broadcast to an adjacent monitor.  Joshua Quarles made a new composition called Hexagonal (click to listen)  for the hive, which includes a track of Max and Allyson’s bees.

The walls of the space (painted in bright colors that can only be described as stimulating) are hung with banners that were designed by David Reinfurt for Center Sponge at MIT in 2009 and used as a set for the Sponge Felt mittens and boots at the Makers Market at Socrates Sculpture Park that same year.  Sponge felt items punctuate the space, including a letterpressed piece of felt from the I Am Amen show at the Austin Peay State University in 2010.  Much was done to transform the raw, white space and to embrace the very classroom-like, mocha-chip colored flooring. Eric Stepp built a library platform and shelf in the corner window.  This makes a lovely observatory for the chimney stacks and rooftops of Franklin St.  From that platform, visitors will also be able to observe the bees entering and exiting the building this spring. Another flight of Eric Stepp’s steps now leads to the “office”.  The unstoppable Jessica Dodd designed not only the stair platforms, but the desks and tables in the space as well.  Matt Spahr’s Indo-Board, which was made for the Water & Sound Sponge at Solvent Space in 2008 has become an essential component of all project-related environments.

The HQ houses a fully functioning feltmaking studio and wool dying area and the intention is to make much felt here between now and mid-March.  At the opening, Jessica Dodd, Katie Connor and Olivia Gibian, all clad in coveralls, conducted a live feltmaking demo.  While Katie and Olivia showed visitors how to lay out roving for a rug, Jessica “skirted” the fleece of a sheep named Charlotte (who lives at Spring Hills Farm in Northeastern PA.) Also installed in the space are project artifacts, documentation and ephemera from the Spring 2010 class, Colablablab, which round out the art-meets-science exploration that is ever-present in Sponge.

A grateful shout-out for their contribution to the opening goes to Antonia Fisher Duke and Jonathan Vassar of Jonathan Vassar and the Speckled Bird who used their legendary hosting skills to welcome visitors and assure that all came off without a hitch.  And fellow bandmate, the aforementioned JQ, took care that all were properly fed and hydrated with white bean and arugula salad and a case (or two?) of chilled white wine. Chris Edwards (my parking hero) was also in attendance, completing the Speckled Bird roster.

As with any undertaking, infinite thanks must go to the people who gave of their energy to make the thing happen.  Here I would like to extend enormous gratitude to Ashley Kistler of the VCUarts Anderson Gallery for giving the project a home.  Ashley should have a blog post of her very own. Ashley should have a blog of her own. Here, she will have a paragraph of her own.

Michael Lease and Traci Horne, also of the of the Anderson Gallery must be heartily celebrated, for without their attention, patience and belief in the project, the HQ would still be an empty white room with scary Venetian blinds. I mentioned many in the installation crew already, but three cheers go to: Joshua Quarles , Jessica Dodd, Katie Connor, Olivia Gibian and Andrew Kotsch.  Eric Stepp transformed the heck out of this room and the world should see another carpenter with his artistry and mastery. Terry Brown stepped up to shoot the opening with about 53 seconds of advanced warning and made images fit for posterity. Tim Dalton managed all of the printing and signmaking (huzzah!) and John Henry Blatter offered crack technical backup.

Funding for the Sponge HQ was provided by the VCUarts Dean’s Faculty Research Grant.  And additional thanks go to the VCUarts Art Foundation Program and Elissa Armstrong and the Department of Painting & Printmaking and Holly Morrison. As per always, without the miraculous ministrations of Chris Costello of Art Foundation, the Sponge HQ would be a glimmer in my eye.

The Colablablab instructors (along with myself) were Dr. Edward Crawford and Dan Carr.  Dr. Donald Young, chair of the VCU Biology Department was a behind the scenes steward. Participants, or “colablablaborators”, whose work is on view, are: Andrew Schmidt, Ashton Hudgins, Hyunji Lee, Jessica Dodd, John Gustafson, Katie Connor, Marilyn Li, Michael Horton, Olivia Gibian, Rebecca Henderson and Ross Iannatti.  The Sponge Researchers, who dovetailed with that class, were Andrew Kotsch, Beranger LeFranc and Vreni Michelini.

Theora Kvitka boldly signed on to be the Sponge HQ Coordinator and it is to her that I owe thanks for seeding the ground for this blog, which is off the ground thanks to her round of incisive preliminary posts.

Sponge is a project of co-artists, collaborators, visiting experts; in short…PEOPLE.  I am sure there are those who lent their energy to this launch who I have failed to mention.  I hope they will forgive the indiscretion and feel ever welcome at the HQ.

For a list of Sponge HQ happenings, please continue to visit this blog and also keep tabs at the Anderson Gallery site. Visitors are welcome to inspect, hang out, lounge, read, and listen on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 2 and 4pm.  Please do stop by.

Click here to see more pictures from the opening as well as other events at Sponge HQ.

To read about the opening in the Commonwealth Times, go here.

Sponge HQ opening press release.

Photos by Terry Brown.