CLEVELANDSGS’s El Voyage Maximo will be featured!

Art show with 20 artists or collectives:
Tim Atherton, Leah Beeferman, Jerry Birchfield, Mark Brabant, Brittany Campbell, Cetusss, Skott Chandler, Cleveland SGS, Le Contremaître et sa contremaîtresse, Randy Crider, Peter Damm, Dana Depew, Greta Gratos, Matthew Hostelley, Harris Johnson, Joseph Makkos, Sam Meador, Joseph Minek, Michelle Marie Murphy, Lee Norris, Lauren Yeager.

In the summer of 2007 Cleveland SGS, with a little help from their alien friends, coined the phrase, “Cleveland punishes those who build for kings“. By this we mean that if we design our likeness after so-called “winning” places, Mother Cleveland will relentlessly punish us from now until the end of time. Now that you know the recipe to never-ending suffering throw out the ingredients and start a new. Trust SGS, this knowledge is pure and will release you from the burdens of life. Build for your self, not for kings.

St. Clair …

The term comfort station may seem anachronistic today–but SGS is lobbying to bring back this term to the masses.

As you can see from this picture at the West Side Market, the notion that you are descending toward any comfort is  highly unlikely. Nevertheless this community bathroom is relatively clean and boasts the most scalding water in town for those that exercise the option of washing their hands.

There isn’t much to say about present day Clark other than “mind your Ps and Qs”. The first days of spring do however bring a certain charm to the street. Shopkeepers come out to wave at tooting horns, baby strollers race the strip coached by slick-haired lovelies, and life goes on. This is Clark, bombed with salty savings and shiny autoparts, it’s the place that welcomes with an unfamiliar ferocity.

SGS took a picture of Taylor’s Lounge on October, 2006. The establishment is located at 3385 E. 93 St. Although Taylor’s is now closed its color palette on this street is not forgotten. Taylor’s and others like it got us thinking about the bold statement that pink structures make … especially in northern climates. The color pink induces calm feelings, neutralizes disorder, and conveys contentment. This “visual message” is in stark contrast with the characteristic “grey” mood associated with places like Cleveland.

None of the SGS crew ever made it into Taylor’s but we can only salute the owner who decided to drop colorful love onto one tough neighborhood.

Click on these links to view full images of Taylor’s Lounge, Dyna Guard, Sbano’s Restaurante and Entertainment, which are some (but not all) of Cleveland’s landmark pink places.

El Voyage Maximo from Cleveland SGS on Vimeo.

“Scorpio Diamante’s El Voyage Maximo, which premiered at  the Bangkok International Film Festival will probably be called a perfect film, and in a way I suppose it is. The amazing thing about Mr. Diamante’s new film is that it stays with you hours after the first viewing and then lingers on the corners of the brain for days to come.  Diamante of Cleveland SGS fame has forsaken his previous filmmaking techniques of utilizing sinister music and slimy mustache-twirling villains that bubble before our eyes. In this new venture our protagonist is beamed down to the heart of Cleveland and spends a few days investigating locals and learning what drives their honesty, dedication, and incorruptible spirits amidst the darkness that looms.

El Voyage Maximo may not be organized according to patterns that we are familiar with, yet we don’t question the logic.  Every midwesterner will intrinsically understand the visitor’s quest for true understanding. The picture in essence is a coming of age story where our hero yearns to experience joy.  All the while we as the viewers stay one step ahead of him by understanding just how big this job really is. One may not be ready for the conclusion of this film, as Diamante deftly throws a final right jab that challenges viewers to examine their surroundings from an alternate view.

Maximo is about the insanity of a fundamentalist culture in which practically the whole city has been turned into robots. The inhabitants that remain are those who still decide to live their lives in lieu of some unattainable dream.  Maximo is not full of resolutions because the SGS team doesn’t set up conflicts for easy digestion.  A lot happens in five days in this city, and nothing is ever wrapped up, this is because Clevelanders are too busy living their lives to be locked into their predestined fate.”

Hai Tah Cheong — Photo Play International

Most people would probably not envision this image when hearing the words House of God, yet the residents of the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood most likely do.  This structure was located on East 128th and Kinsman. This simple structure stood not only as a beat up storefront church but also as a symbol of the deep religious past and resiliency of Ward 3 residents.

The Movie Exchange is a fascinating business in the greater Cleveland area.  The business plan is fairly creative and has many benefits for its customer base — no membership, no records, no late fees. It is a dumping ground for old videos that no longer have enough demand to justify rental shelf space and so, like the “mathoms” of Hobbiton, are not good enough to keep but are too good to throw away.  Customers could buy a VHS tape for $9.95 (for “normal” movie) or $12.95 or $18.95 (for porn).  These movies could then be exchanged, at any time, for $1, $2, or $3 respectively, as long as the carbon copy of their receipt was in hand and the tapes and boxes were still in good condition.  No rental periods, no late fees, no memberships.  Nowadays I think the VHS has been phased out and DVDs are exchanged; they were transitioning to DVD the last time I was in the store, about four or five years ago.

I was able to watch videos during my shifts, as business was always sporadic, and I got to discover all sorts of wonderful old films — Detroit 9000, The Warrior and the Sorceress, and Giants of Rome are memorable examples.  But the old movies were basically window dressing, all the real business was in the porn in the back room, which we helpfully organized by genre (Anal, Black, Gay, Bondage, Mature, Foreign, etc.) or by duration (4+ hrs).

The most interesting thing about the Cuyahoga Falls Movie Exchange, though, is it’s close proximity to the Ernest Angely complex, and most appropriately to Rex’s Erection.

(more…)