‘After Party shows hundreds of rural French discotheques’ frontage, shot in daylight. Those nightclubs, still in activity, show themselves in a new light: neon and other sulfurous attributes from the nocturnal ambiance are replaced by a more standard and less glittery reality. They become then quite neutral buildings in peri-urban or rural zones, in the middle of industrial area or sugarbeet fields.
‘As Cinderella getting back to reality, those places of celebration, idealized by many teenagers, become void. Not without humour, and with a hint of nostalgia, the series wants also to pay tribute to the sometimes overdecorated designs and visual codes claimed by those places. The project was awarded in 2016 a “Fidal Youth Photography Award“ and won a 5000€ grant.’ — collaged
___
Further
Francois Prost Site
Francois Prost @ instagram
A PARISIAN AFTER PARTY IN THE LIGHT OF DAY
Paris Syndrome: photographer Francois Prost explores a replica city in China
“Photo Stories” by François Prost
Francois Prost’s Photographs Show Parisian Architecture Like You’ve Never Seen It
Buy the book of ‘After Party’
___
Extras
Aux Champs Élysées 2018 BY FRANCOIS PROST
Un samedi soir en Province
____
Interview
from Nova
After Party is a trip through France. The idea is to photograph the storefronts or buildings of discotheques “periphery”, almost nightclubs roundabouts?
François Prost : Yes. Many discos are actually in these areas between the city and the countryside, either from the suburbs of large and medium-sized cities or from the deep countryside. After the discotheques, historically, have been rebourguer in the suburbs not to disturb the neighborhood.
You do not photograph the insides of the clubs, you do not photograph them at night but by day, when there is a kind of non-life in a place that can be very excited. By the way, the first time you saw a club like that was during a late night?
François Prost: Not exactly, I did not go out but I ended up on a disco parking lot by chance. I left a few days to take a bike trip in Burgundy and I took this place in photo. He touched me because he was decontextualized. To see the backdrop of this place in the middle of the day, I found it interesting. It was called the Attitude Club, not far from Corbigny in Burgundy.
And from when did you start doing this routinely?
François Prost: I took this picture in 2011 and falling back a few months later I thought it was a subject that could be the subject of a documentary.
Did you notice occurrences of names?
François Prost: There are several categories of names, namely references to mythical places, Studio 54, Amnesia, Pasha, places that made the history of nightclubs. Then there are many names of places that refer to hedonism, the Dream for example, or references to the Greco-Roman culture.
We almost feel the American Dream.
François Prost: Yes, because these places are still a lot of American culture, shopping center, driving, mall … All these areas have taken a very important place in the French landscape, we begin to realize. Historically, the image of France a little cliché is the small village with the town hall, church etc. And in fact these areas take a lot of space on the territories.
You asked permission from all these clubs?
François Prost: No, no. I started asking, but in fact it was too complicated.
You saw them at night?
François Prost: There are still not far from 250 photos. I reviewed some at night, I had been to others when I was younger, including the Titan near Lyon. You see it returns this Greco-Roman image, of power.
And the Macumba?
François Prost: I met two of them. There were more but some closed. There is a lot of turnover overall for the discotheques. Except for Macumba, because it’s a chain! There is one still in activity in the suburbs of Lille, another towards Bordeaux which closed, one in Savoie which closed also … In any case it is the mythical image of the French discotheque.
There are the references of the south, the Macumba, but also Italy , the American references, the historical references, there is a combo between all that.
François Prost: Indeed you can say a lot about all architectural references, it even speaks of the history of architecture. The pictures speak for themselves.
Everything is relatively recent, since the 70’s. Is it really the explosion of disco that brought all these discotheques?
François Prost: I would say yes. Afterwards there are certainly buildings that have been recycled, for example in more remote places there are farm buildings.
___
Show
*
p.s. Hey. ** Carsten, Thanks, yeah, he’s great. No klieg lights or paparazzi or anything, that’s for sure. The poster’s quite large, that’s cool. ** Alice, Hi, Alice, good to see you. That book is very very worth getting. Video editing would be swell. Editing is my favorite part of making films. Zac takes freelance jobs as a video editor sometimes. ‘Illbleed’, I don’t remember it. Huh. Has it been ported to some other system? Fuji-Q Highland Park is one of my favorite amusement parks, and they do have a helluva haunted house attraction there. Must seek out, it seems. Pikmin 2 is my favorite of the series. Before the game maybe a little too elaborate or something. Nice. You take care too. Best of the best. ** seb🦠, Hi! Bearcano, okay, I’m on the hunt. Oh, wait, wow, you shared a clip. Thank you, I’ll hit it when I’m done here. Oh, maybe I’d fight The Blob. I always thought it would be much easier to kill than the people in the movie thought it was so I could test my theory. Who’s your ideal monster opponent? ** _Black_Acrylic, Ultimately, yes, if one is lucky, for sure, yes. ** Laura, Well, well, sleeping progress, excellent. His name is pronounced DOO-goes (the ‘l’ is silent). Obviously I’m very happy you like his poems. That book would not fail you. Highest hopes on the gradual, at least, return to spunkiness. The wind is mild here today but very cold. I’ll take that. I hope yours is, well, room temperature. ** Charalampos, The book will penetrate you, I’m pretty sure. No, I think the UK ‘Try’ cover was just kind of a washed out looking version of the US cover? Paris sends its greetings, if I may be so bold. ** Steeqhen, Thanks. He’s an amazing poet, yeah. I believe you on the Dr. Who thing. ** Steve, No longer an atheist? That’s disappointing. You would think drugs would help make that construction’s stupidity even more crystal clear. I was a dj just for that school year. September to May or thereabouts. We’re thinking plans for the IRL home haunt, but we need to buckle down. Probably have to wait until our big French premiere week is over. It’s a bit involving. ** Bernard Welt, The day was ripe for you, for sure. I corresponded with Tim when he was still in DC, but that doesn’t really count. I never watch TV, but catching a Brainard reference is tempting. Maybe someone will make a Brainard reference-only youtube clip. An oral Tim biography is the super great, obvious, must-do project that is obviously never going to happen, and the contributors are dropping like flies. Yes, I saw, I guess on social media, that you’re doing readings, and I clasped my hands together in glee. I did. Can a reading by you at After8 be far behind? I’m so sorry about your brother. That’s so rough. Hugs, B. The theater in NYC where ‘RT’ is playing is rescheduling the Saturday night event if that’s what you’re aimed at. We’re quite pissed off about that. It might be moved to Friday night or Sunday afternoon, waiting to hear. But I can’t wait to see you whenever it is. ** HaRpEr //, It is indeed. And Tim did seem as close to an O’Hara of our generation as there could be. Oh, okay, interesting about your process. I guess I’ve done that too but I think only after I’ve wasted lots of time unsuccessfully polishing what gradually reveals itself as a turd. Yes, I have a pretty developed plan for a novel before I start it, but I definitely follow my muse or whatever once I’m writing as long as I stick to the structural principles I laid out. ** Nicholas., Aced … everything, most things? Fried rice, that sounds good. Hm. No, I’ve never felt that I wanted to bottom for anyone, if memory serves. Maybe worship a little, but that’s it. ** Vincent, Hi! Haha, you think? Probably, yeah. Thanks. How are you? ** nat, Here too. Really cold. And wet. Not an ideal situation on the video game work, yeah. Apropos maybe, I can’t imagine writing a film that I wouldn’t be also visualising. You must love trying to sort all those potential fiction ideas out, though, no? I really like that part. Or maybe I like it more in retrospect than in the moment. Still, that sounds involving in a great way. Nice sighting you had there, needless to say. Onwards, eh? ** Okay. I think I had some of François Prost’s photos here in some post/context at some point in the past, and I decided to give him a whole galerie show for whatever reason. See what you think. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
When I visited Berlin back in 2002 I took this photo of the outside of Tresor nightclub. Probably thought it would make for a contrast between that seemingly innocuous frontage and the debauchery I imagined to be going on indoors later.
omg! you didn’t go in? i was in Berlin one winter and somehow didn’t go either. such failure to, uh, techno. the pic you took tho, those cars outside look almost 80s? wtf Berlin is fun
Hi Laura, I think maybe at that point in time Techno was not attracting much of a monied crowd.
def not monied lol
yo Dennis!
Doo-goes! huh! thnx, i’d have never guessed. hunting for his book now. ^_^
don’t let Boreas lick you! or do. the wind here is actually bonkers today, shutters all rattled like nerves, wild.
i’m all emo rn bc my husband is away on a business thing and i totally miss him. actually had a dream last night that my little muse Dima had somehow come over and he was like don’t go on that trip man lol. obvi he had to have my back, it being my dream etc. when i texted it to my husband earlier he was like love you guys sm heart heart. lol. i married well.
those daylit discos, love! might be one of the few ways in which France and Spain are not totally different worlds or smth. we probably got the inspo from them but i think our hinterlandish discotecas exploded in the 80s w the rise of Bacalao, which was v interesting music btw. also the first time local clubs were openly desegregated, like you could be straight or gay or more likely anything in between, come as you are (by which i mean in a black bodycon mini, every girl seemed to own one).
alas i was too young back then, by the time i was 12 or 13 and could sneak into any club i wanted (i went from kid body to woman body w no in between stage, hebephile nightmare or whatever) Bacalao had become Máquina which was this fucked up fascist offshoot, so meh. there was also this, like, history-making grisly murder of three girls around that time so everything changed quite a bit after. anyway, my friends and i were more postgrunge pub crawl ppl, sort of, but we did go to clubs now and then and got to see the buildings looking all liminal in the morning upon leaving. such a peaceful sight too, like my job here is done lol.
random memory, i was such a massive music snob back then the second anything Trance started playing i was like i’m leaving, shite on the wings of love etc. now i think it wasn’t bad… like ‘dancing, dancing, goodbye friends, this crazy silence’, that was good actually lol.
how did you party in your teens? tell, tell. other than elaborate dances thrown by your school, which amazing, mine would have never and the teachers were mostly either insane or sexually off so that lack of customer service was highkey for the better.
<3
Good evening Mr. Cooper. Yes indeed was cool to meet in Ghent, although someone phoned me half way through the film & *had* to take the call. So missed a bit. Awesome set of images by François Prost. You know that song ‘Smile’ by The Fall, that’s the first thing I think of. Take the chicken run to the toilet! My early teens were spent in the type of discos where having to piss meant a high probability of running into someone who would smash a bottle over your head. The places seethed with malevolance. Club nerve and poses… indeed. Switching topic – revisiting a lot of Bill Nelson’s music recently… he needs a post here IMO. Love and rockets from grey flecked Brussels.
I’m very much on this project’s wavelength. Venues, ideally somewhat shady ones, looked at outside their natural element & timezone: fascinating to me. Strip clubs & road houses in the U.S., seen in broad daylight, cast that spell. And when someone’s around at that weird hour they only add to the eerie nowheresville vibe. The outskirts of Vegas & parts of Palm Springs & environs are rife with that atmosphere.
Today I had quite the run-around as my car’s in the shop. The big camper I drove here with. It’s been burning up coolant way too fast & that needs to be looked into. So I picked up a rental in Malaga. Whilst there I checked out a Santeria shop I had heard about, which was disappointing. My problem is that I’m always looking for the pure Yoruba thing, which is damn near impossible in Europe. Here everything is filtered through several layers of covert Catholicism & airy pseudo-universal esoterica. The solution is simple of course: realize my dream of traveling to Nigeria one day.
Have a great weekend & premiere my friend. Hope the French recognize they have royalty on their hands & treat you accordingly.
def go to Nigeria, like, you won’t find the pure Yoruba thing even in Cuba. i really want you to go then tell us all about it haha ^_^
Hey DC! Any plans for a London screening of Room Temperature? Or has it happened already and somehow I missed it? Can’t wait to watch! Hope you’re doing well. xx
Hey Dennis – Love these photos. They set my mind reeling and feel weirdly narrative in their dead-end quality. Super evocative in an unassuming way. Thanks for putting this together.
Teaching has consumed all my time lately, but I’m finally coming up for air. I’m putting together a post on the new Julian Calendar LP for you and should send that to you soon. Hoping to have a post on new Song Cave book to share too.
I’d love to talk soon to schedule time for you and Zac to visit my class next semester. Have a potential lead for showing RT here, too.
How have the RT screenings been going? How’s the script for the next film? Any fiction ideas percolating? xo
Hey Dennis,
Was working on the Doctor Who post today; I’ve just decided to centre it around the Cybermen because they have over 60 years of tv appearances, a lot of good spinoff material, and a lot of interesting designs and gifs. Gonna be gone tomorrow for a concert (the plight and beauty of living in Ireland but not in Dublin makes it so that every concert is a 3 hour journey to and from!) so I can’t work on any more until Sunday, though it’s relatively simple. How short or long should these posts be? So far it’s about 16 Microsoft word pages, but that’s majority gifs and images, with only like 5 paragraphs of text so far.
Hey. I tend to map out things a lot before I write them but always end up going in other directions. I’m pretty open to letting something change and improvise a lot before I get something right.
My parents have a photographer friend who travels around taking images of rundown buildings in seaside towns that aren’t what they used to be. I once colour graded some photos for him as a work experience thing when I was fifteen and didn’t realise it was for real and printed off these little black images with pricks of light. He didn’t like that.
Have you ever listened to Sharp Pins? He’s a lo-fi rock maestro signed to K Records and has a new album out. He does everything on four track and really sounds like he’s from the mid 60s. He doesn’t exactly do anything to re-invent the wheel exactly but the songs are very well crafted and committed to what they are doing, and there are some really nice textures. It’s also funny to hear an American sing with a British accent for once.
I only have Tim Dlugos’ New York Diary. Will definitely explore further.
Curious little project today. Hot Box Club Sexy, ha.
Totally unrelated curious little project; have you seen this?
https://hollow-press.net/collections/u-d-w-f-g-essays/products/the-bizarre-world-of-fake-video-games-by-super-eyepatch-wolf-u-d-w-f-g-essays-i
Bill
hi dennis,
i know last time i was here i said i was going to go back to being a regular, but things got in the way. i’m glad to be back though! last time we spoke you mentioned that they probably have a silver jews doc in the pipeline, but if they don’t i might have to step in and make it myself. my obsession with berman waned a little since we last spoke but it’s come back in full force over the last week or so.
i’m really mad at myself for missing when you came to bainbridge! i would’ve made the trip out if i had known it was happening. hopefully you (or at least room temperature) come back out here at some point. have you ever been to the georgetown morgue? i went for the first time this halloween season and it scared me so bad. there’s a big open room where you can only see silhouettes in the fog and people run besides you revving chainsaws. you can’t see them until they’re inches away. i think it’s widely considered one the best haunted house in the area. also, louise weard told me you brought me up in your conversation with her when you two met which is till can’t wrap my head around even though it’s been well over a month since i heard about it. very honored.
i’ve been reading more than watching movies or anything else which has been a nice change of pace. i’ve been working my way through some of the classics (at least until my new york review of books sale picks arrive; jack the modernist is up next i think) and have been loving it. i’m reading moby dick right now, which is as good, if not better than everyone says it is. i’m also excited to check out the new novels from pynchon and dewitt. any thing you’ve seen/read recently that you’ve especially loved? i loved your post on tim dlugos. i’m so sorry for your loss. i will never not be heartbroken when thinking about all the incredible people aids killed. very interested in checking out his work.
sorry if this is overbearing or too sentimental or whatever but i’m starting hrt in less than a week, so i’ve been reflecting a lot. i just want you to know how grateful i am for you and your art. i found your work at the perfect time in my life, it articulated feelings i didn’t have the words for and formally it shaped how i view art. a couple years ago, when i would talk to you on here every day, i had no friends and very few bright spots in my life. talking to you and reading your blog posts was one of the few things i looked forward to and i hope you know how much it means to me.
anyways, i wish you all the best. hopefully i’ll be on here more, but i wont make any promises.
love,
audrey
*Shatter* Haha Im sooo into worship too I get that! Dennis Dom top Cooper idk why writer just has bottom energy but I’m not even projecting I’m so bad at that even as a carrier of the writer title hum maybe ill write my butt more experienced haha. More fried rice for dinner so im ecstatic about leftovers too whats your leftover philosophy growing up it was strictly no leftovers fresh new dinners only wild right. Ive really come to appreciate a repeat especially a surprise favorite you literally couldn’t finish all thats prime leftovers. il be back so whats up ttylxoxbrb
hi dennis, on phone. so we’ll see how this goes.
god the shock i felt with some of these, particularly the ones without cars or people. like they aren’t just temporary parking lots or sidewalks during the day, they are just nothing. brr.
speaking of shock, still assbitingly cold and now wet, like i tried to walk in the already made footpath to my local grocery store, and each footprints were just a pool. brr times two.
fitting apropos, i am okay with compromise but that feels like it leads me to being used as a doormat. now it really does feel like the best way to go about it is to write something i would be visualizing, however that might work out.
i really do like sorting ideas and preparing to see where it fits, etc. honestly i could spend a lifetime doing it lmao. oh well. i’m still sorting it out. the more straightforward horror romp, which i’m tentatively calling ‘nosebleed days’ is forming nicely. the internet forum / social media romp ‘the ferals’, i’m mostly cataloguing various fandoms or communities as of now, i have ideas on which specific one speaks to me but i wanna take my time lest i get caught in one that is mostly superfically interesting to me.
i think that’s all!
Hey Dennis.
I can’t sleep so I was reading “Smothered in Hugs” and I got to the Gordon Lish review. I began to do a bit of a deep dive into Lish after reading it and was wondering, did you ever get into trouble for that review? I ask because Lish seemed to hold a real sway over people back then, and among some people still does. I liked some of the stories by Brodkey and Lutz of course, but it seems funny how his ideal of fiction isn’t really held anymore. I dunno he seems like an interesting curiosity and I expect that you had some experiences with him.
Hope you have a lovely morning though. I always loved the cinematography in elogie de amour.