book proposal

download a printable version of The Ugly Couch book proposal: proposal.rtf [54kb]

Proposal for Coffee Table Book
by Camille Hempel
Working title: the Ugly Couch

Introduction

       Every couch tells a story. I have been listening to them for years. I love old couches. I live them and I can’t get enough of them. My serial obsession has lured me out on the streets hunting for them many, many nights while most are home dozing on theirs. I have hundreds of photos of discarded sofas, as well as paintings and other couch artifacts. In fact, I even own a famous couch.
       Couches are people things. You live with them forever it seems. Not looking at them, but rather from them at the world. When they finally end up on the street, they are beyond people. They are living paradoxes, sights of intimate comfort abandoned on city streets. Each one tells a story, however sordid and speculative. They are things you would not let set foot in your house, unless they were on the glossy pages of a book. Less obvious, but as a propos as a coffee table book about coffee tables. Bringing these outcasts back into their original domain would make a true spectacle!

Market

       Couches reveal not only the domestic side of America but its soul. Everyone has a couch. It is one of the most intimate objects we possess…therefore, this subject would have tremendous general appeal. It would also interest people who enjoy and follow Americana, who find meaning in the details of pop culture/daily life. Finally, this book will be intriguing to those who appreciate the arts, photography in particular, and who are looking for an unusual subject such as this one.

Resume

       When a turn of events brought it into the national spotlight, my obsession received a lot of press coverage. I entered one of my street conquests (Lady Pinkus), which I had dragged home with me years earlier, in the 9th annual Ugly Couch competition. I had always found her beautiful in her way, but she managed to garner over 10,000 votes online, which placed her in the top three and guaranteed her a spot on Live with Regis & Kelly for the ugly couch showdown. The subsequent media attention, including an article in the New York Times and CNN coverage before and after the event, initially focused on the couch, but decidedly swerved to me and my obsession. Both featured several photographs of my abandoned couches, and the CNN piece even showed me in my couch halloween costume from a previous year. Even Regis, during the interview on his show, seemed both baffled and curious as to how I had come to be so enamored of this humble little excuse for a couch. Finally, after all the suspense, I was in shock when they announced my name and showered me and my couch with confetti in front of millions of viewers. That the highest honor would be bestowed upon me, the “queen of couches” was beyond my wildest imagination! I am still feeling the aftereffects, like an indelible impression in an old couch pillow. And realizing how much this one couch has come to mean to me, I had its image permanently tattooed on my person.
       The photos I have taken over the past 10+ years are Black & White, and Color. They are portraits, urban landscapes, abstracts, still lifes and crime scenes. Overall, they represent a diverse survey of couches gone by, pre-IKEA. As a couch hunter, I have noticed a decline in the quality of our garbage. The rich source seems to be drying up. Sadly, now I pass them by. The time feels ripe to present them back to the world, to give the world back its refuse as art and make them pay for the neglect they have fostered-as art!

Outline

       The Introduction of the book would be about the photographer and how the work came to exist. It would explain the thought process behind the work, and illustrate how the collection amassed over the years. Included in this section (or concluding the book?) would be the personal story of her infatuation with a street sofa that developed into a long term relationship, and ultimately true love. A rags to riches story about how she and her couch came to be recognized by America.
       The Body of the book would be the anonymous documentation of the shocking public demise of sofas ending up on the street. The 120-140 photographs (and counting) in Color and B&W would clearly show the abundance of these couch dregs. The photographs stand on their own, but perhaps comments as to how they were found would be relevant.
       And finally, the image of the photographer's couch tattoo might sum it all up concisely.

Publicity Opportunities

       Surely Regis and Kelly would have me back, in conjunction with the next annual ugly couch competition. CNN has certainly found the subject worthy enough to run the spot so frequently and even during the six months since. Also this book would be saleable in places other than bookstores, such as furniture stores, or any place that sells coffee tables. Also, Surefit, the online slipcover company which sponsors the Ugly Couch competition, may want to sell it, seeing their part in the couch’s fame and fortune.