CNN
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While some individuals embark on journeys around the globe seeking exhilarating experiences, others venture out for natural spectacles, historical sites, or gastronomic delights. However, French photographer François Prost was in pursuit of something entirely distinct during his recent cross-country drive through America: strip clubs.
Spanning from Miami to Los Angeles, Prost’s latest publication “Gentlemen’s Club” documents his journey across the United States through nearly 150 strip clubs with titles like Pleasures, Temptations, and Cookies N’ Cream. Nevertheless, there isn’t a single naked woman to be spotted, as Prost’s focus was solely on the establishments themselves — particularly their often-vibrant exteriors.
Throughout five weeks in 2019, he covered more than 6,000 miles, with the resulting shots capturing a range from the pastel shades of Florida’s Club Pink Pussycat to establishments concealed in plain view within the nation’s more devout regions.
“I’d categorize these places into two groups: One is deeply embedded in the public domain, while the other tends to be more obscure and questionable,” Prost remarked, conversing with CNN via video call and email.
The first category, he noted, could be situated in “very American” environments, like “surrounding amusement parks, fast food locations, and shopping malls.” The latter venues, on the other hand, sometimes blended in indistinguishably with any establishment in a shopping center. Prost discovered a multitude of such places dotted along the Bible Belt, a conventionally conservative area in the southern part of the country. He was particularly interested in examining this region due to the stark disparity between the number of strip clubs and what he describes in his book as “conservatism and extreme puritanism.”
Prost emphasized that he had minimal curiosity regarding the interiors or services of the strip clubs, which he always visited during daylight hours. His intention was to gain insights into American culture by producing objective, documentary-influenced photographs of establishments located at the crossroads of sex, gender, and commerce. By documenting evolving perceptions of sexuality through architectural perspectives, he remarked that the series was fundamentally a landscape photography endeavor.
“The lens of this theme of strip club facades turned into a means of exploring and attempting to comprehend the country,” he expressed in “Gentlemen’s Club,” photographs from which will be showcased in an exhibit in Tokyo come March.
”(‘Gentlemen’s Club’ is) an impartial overview of prevalent viewpoints and gender and the sexualization of the female image.”
‘A bit strange’
The origins of Prost’s endeavor trace back to his 2018 series, “After Party,” which focused on the extravagant exteriors of French nightclubs. He noted that viewers often remarked how the architecture resembled venues from American cities, igniting the notion that he should travel to the US and expand the initiative.
As he carefully orchestrated his voyage, he was not only taken aback by the overwhelming number of strip clubs in the United States but also by their penchant for visibility — unlike those in Europe. Vibrant pink walls, enormous nude outlines, and even candy-cane-striped facades left little doubt about the nature of the entertainment inside.
“An excellent illustration is Las Vegas, where strip clubs are ubiquitous, and their signage dazzles as brightly as any fast-food establishment or casino sign,” Prost mentioned.
Strip clubs in Miami often flaunted bright, Wes Anderson-inspired shades. Other images depict vividly colored venues juxtaposed against their arid desert backdrop.
When establishments were open during daylight hours, Prost would enter and request permission to take photographs to avoid appearing suspicious… and clarify his intentions,” he shared. The interiors seldom lived up to the alluring promises advertised across the signage outside, yet the photographer encountered a variety of personalities throughout his five-week journey, from apathetic bouncers to managers who enthusiastically supported the project.
“In most instances, people were agreeable — 99% would consent to a facade photograph,” he remarked, noting that they generally didn’t mind his presence as long as he refrained from photographing patrons or dancers.
“Some found it somewhat unusual, while others were genuinely excited and would offer me their business card to share the picture once completed,” he mentioned.
Prost expressed that his greatest astonishment was how “normalized” strip clubs seemed within everyday life. As he reflects in his book, “The association Americans seem to have with strip clubs differs significantly from what one observes in Europe. Attending a strip club seems to be far more normalized… You go as a couple or with friends at night for entertainment.”
He was particularly astonished by how numerous Las Vegas strip clubs functioned as restaurants — with many featuring happy hour promotions, buffets, and special offers for truck drivers or construction workers.
“I came across a few strip clubs that promoted themselves as both a strip club and steakhouse, allowing patrons to enjoy a sizable cut of meat (while) watching strippers. That also feels distinctly American to me,” he said, adding: “I was told by some individuals I met in Portland that there are even strip clubs (that offer) vegan fare.”
Objects of desire
The exteriors are filled with humor such as “My sex life resembles the Sahara, two palms, no dates” and pun-based titles like Booby Trap and Bottoms Up. Prost’s documentarian approach amplifies the surreal comedy of the signage. However, it also serves as a neutral viewpoint, allowing viewers to form their own opinions regarding the objectification of women.
By focusing on the faceless dancing figures represented by female silhouettes and the archetypal “girls girls girls”placards, “Gentlemen’s Club” probes into the commodification of women, who are, in truth, completely absent in Prost’s works (a reflection mirrored in the book’s title, which is a phrase that appears frequently on signage throughout his images). The strip clubs he encountered promote women as commodities to be consumed, illustrated by the myriad of food-themed appellations to an advertisement proclaiming, “1,000’s of attractive girls & three unattractive ones.”
In his upcoming project, Prost intends to travel to Japan to document the country’s love hotels, which serve a similar function as strip clubs in certain areas of the US: accepted secrets within a conservative society. Nevertheless, the photographer believes the American venues he captured convey something distinctive about the nation — less about sexuality and more about the American dream.
What his endeavor has revealed to him is, he stated, this: “As long as you succeed business-wise, (it doesn’t matter) if your enterprise involves sex.”
“Gentlemen’s Club” will be displayed at Agnes b. Galerie Boutique in Tokyo, Japan, from March 17 to April 15, 2023. The book, published by Fisheye Editions, is now available.
