CNN
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Some people travel the world in search of adventure, while others travel in search of natural wonders, cultural landmarks or culinary experiences. But French photographer François Prost was looking for something completely different during a recent trip across the United States. It was a strip club.
From Miami to Los Angeles, Prost's latest book, “Gentlemen's Club,” charts his route across the United States through some 150 strip clubs with names like Pleasures, Temptations and Cookies N' Cream. However, because Prost's camera was trained exclusively on the buildings themselves, especially their often ornate exteriors, there is not a single nude woman to be seen.
Over five weeks in 2019, he traversed more than 6,000 miles, and the resulting photos captured everything from the pastel colors of Florida's Club Pink Pussycat to hidden spots in the state's religious state.
“I like to divide these places into two types: one that is very integrated into the public environment and the other that is a bit more hidden and suspicious,” Prost told CNN via video call and email.
![Xcape Mens Club in El Paso, Texas.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230219164149-03-francois-prost-gentlemens-club.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill)
He added that the first type can be found in “very American” environments, such as “amusement parks, fast food, and around shopping malls.” However, the latter places can sometimes seem indistinguishable from all the stores in the strip mall. Prost said he has found many such establishments along the Bible Belt, a socially conservative region of the South. He was particularly keen to explore this area because of the proliferation of strip clubs and the stark contrast between what he described in his book as “conservatism and extreme puritanism.”
Prost claimed to have little interest in the interior or service of the strip clubs he always visited during the day. Instead, he wanted to learn more about American culture by creating objective, documentary-style photographs of establishments at the intersection of sex, gender, and commerce. Documenting changing attitudes towards sex through the lens of architecture, he added that the series is primarily about landscape photography projects.
“The thematic prism of strip club exteriors has become a way to study and try to understand the country,” he writes in “Gentlemen’s Club,” a photograph that will be featured in an exhibition opening in Tokyo in March.
“(‘Gentleman’s Club’) is an objective panorama of dominant opinions, gender, and sexual objectification of feminine images.”
Prost's project dates back to his 2018 series “After Party,” which focused on the glamorous exteriors of French nightclubs. It is said that the idea to extend the project by visiting the United States was sparked by frequent comments saying that the building's exterior looked as if it had been ripped off from an American city.
Carefully planning his trip, he was struck not only by the sheer volume of strip clubs in the United States, but also by the fact that, unlike in Europe, they often ask to be shown. Hot pink walls, giant nude silhouettes, and even candy cane-striped storefronts can't hide the kind of entertainment on offer inside.
“A good example would be Las Vegas, where strip clubs are everywhere and their signs are as flashing as fast food (restaurant) or casino signs,” Prost said.
Clubs in Miami are often painted in vibrant Wes Anderson-esque hues. Other photos show brightly covered locations contrasting with the sparse desert environment.
![The Little Darling is one of more than a dozen Las Vegas establishments featured in Prost's book.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230219163959-06-francois-prost-gentlemens-club.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill)
When the facility was open during the day, Frost would go in and ask permission to take pictures “so as not to look suspicious… and explain what my intentions were,” he said. The interior hardly lived up to the sweet promises written all over the exterior signage, but the photographer encountered plenty of characters during his five-week trip, from indifferent security guards to managers enthusiastic about the project.
“Most people were fine with it. 99% of them said ‘yes’ to the exterior photos,” he added. He added that they would generally not be bothered by his presence unless he was taking pictures of patrons or dancers.
“Some people might think it’s a little strange, but some people are really happy and will send me the picture and give me a business card when it’s done,” he said.
But Prost said his biggest surprise was how “normalized” strip clubs have become in everyday life. “The relationship Americans have with strip clubs is quite different from the relationship we see in Europe,” he says in his book. Going to strip clubs seems to have become much more common. We go out as a couple at night or have a great time with friends.”
For example, he was shocked to discover that many Las Vegas strip clubs double as restaurants. Many boasted happy hour discounts, buffets, and special discounts for truck drivers or construction workers.
“I found a few strip clubs that advertised themselves as strip clubs and steakhouses so you could eat big pieces of meat while watching the strippers. “It’s also a very American thing to me,” he added. “I heard from some people I met in Portland that there are even strip clubs that serve vegetarian food.”
The facade is filled with jokes like “My sex life is like the Sahara, two palms, no dates” and names based on puns like Booby Trap and Bottoms Up. Frost's documentary approach heightens the surreal comedy of the signs. But it also serves as a neutral lens through which viewers can make up their own minds about the objectification of women.
![Dreams Club in Los Angeles, California.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230219164417-09-francois-prost-gentlemens-club.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill)
By honing in on the faceless silhouettes of dancing women and the stereotypical 'girls girls girls' signifier, “Gentleman's Club” explores the commodification of women that is actually entirely absent from Frost's work (an observation reflected in the book's title, which is evident throughout his photography). It's a phrase that appears several times on signs: The strip clubs he visited visited market women for consumption, from numerous food-themed names to advertisements saying “1,000 beautiful girls and 3 ugly girls.”
For his next project, Prost plans to travel to Japan and document America's love hotels, which function similar to strip clubs in some parts of the country. This is an open secret in conservative society. But the photographer believes that the American institutions he visited say something unique about the country – more about the American dream than sexual orientation.
Here's what his project showed him: “It doesn’t matter whether the activity is about sex, as long as it is successful on the business side.”
“Gentlemen’s Club” will be on display at Agnes. b. Gallery Boutique, Tokyo, Japan from March 17 to April 15, 2023. bookPublished by Fisheye Editions is available now.