FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER DOCUMENTS U.S. STRIP CLUBS IN NEW BOOK

French photographer François Prost was looking for something different to photograph during his recent road trip across America. He settled on U.S. strip clubs. (* So he wanted to put out a book that would sell a lot of copies.) Prost’s latest book “Gentlemen’s Club” features nearly 150 strip clubs from from Miami to Los Angeles, with names like Pleasures, Temptations and Cookies N’ Cream. There are no naked women – the book is nothing but photos of the exterior of the buildings. (* So – he DIDN’T want to put out a book that would sell a lot of copies.) Prost insists that he had no interest in the interiors or services of the strip clubs, which he always visited during the day. Instead, he wanted to document changing attitudes toward sex through the lens of architecture. Prost says his book is “an objective panorama of dominant opinions and gender and the sexualization of the feminine image.” Prost said his biggest surprise, however, was how “normalized” strip clubs appeared to be in everyday life. He says, “You go as a couple, or amongst friends at night to have fun.” Also, he was struck by the sheer volume of strip clubs in America.
* Someone tell him about our gun shops.
* Somehow, I don’t think this book is going to make it rain for the publisher.
* It’s like going to the art museum just to look at the frames.
* I was hoping for a book documenting the laundromats across America, but whatever.
* His next project is to visit the most beautiful architecture in the world and photograph the front doorknobs.