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The surreal facades of America's strip clubs
Some people travel the world in search of adventure, while others seek out natural wonders, cultural landmarks or culinary experiences. But French photographer François Prost was looking for something altogether different during his.
Photo: CNN
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WORLD: Some people travel the world in search of adventure, while others seek out natural wonders, cultural landmarks or culinary experiences. But French photographer François Prost was looking for something altogether different during his recent road trip across America : strip clubs.
Over the course of five weeks in 2019 he traversed over 6,000 miles, with the resulting photos capturing everything from the pastel hues of Florida's Club Pink Pussycat to venues hiding in plain sight in the country's more religious states.
"I'd divide these venues into two types: One is very integrated into the public landscape, and one is a bit more hidden and dodgy," Prost said, speaking to CNN on a video call and email.
The first type, he added, could be found in "very American" settings, such as "around amusement parks and fast food and malls." The latter venues, however, would sometimes look indistinguishable from any store in a strip mall. Prost said he found many such establishments along the Bible Belt, a socially conservative region in the country's south. He was especially keen to explore the area due to the apparent contrast between the prevalence of strip clubs and what he describes in his book as "conservatism and extreme puritanism."
Prost insisted that he had little interest in the interiors or services of the strip clubs, which he always visited during the day. Instead, he hoped to learn more about American culture by creating objective, documentary-style photographs of establishments sitting at the intersection of sex, gender and commerce. Documenting changing attitudes toward sex through the lens of architecture, he added that the series was primarily of a landscape photography project.
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"The prism of this theme of strip club facades became a way of studying and trying to understand the country," he wrote in "Gentlemen's Club," photographs from which will feature in an exhibition in Tokyo in March.
Some people travel the world in search of adventure, while others seek out natural wonders, cultural landmarks or culinary experiences. But French photographer François Prost was looking for something altogether different during his recent road trip across America: strip clubs.