There’s dedication to your artistic projects, and then there’s getting advertiser logos tattooed on your arm.
First, some background: Nikola Tesla, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, made revolutionary advances in everything from alternating current electricity to X-rays to, yes, the Tesla coil, and famously feuded with his onetime employer Thomas Edison. After years of Edison getting all the glory, Tesla's star is belatedly rising. Matt Inman of The Oatmeal just raised half a million dollars for a Nikola Tesla museum in forty-eight hours, in part by taking donations of $33,333 to feature your startup on his site for a day.
What does this have to do with corporate tattoos? If you love all things Tesla but 33 grand seems steep for a single ad, Sam Tyler is co-founder of a two day Tesla-themed steampunk event outside Austin called Showdown at Unobtanium: Tesla versus Edison. And she will have your logo permanently tattooed on her arm for a mere $5,000 contribution to the event.
"We feel like we must have tapped into some sort of Zeitgeist,” said Maggie Duval, Tyler’s co-founder.
Plans for the Tesla versus Edison showdown have been in the works for months. As Tyler and Duval worked on hiring actors, recruiting volunteers and constructing the set for a science-themed Victorian town akin to a 19th century Eureka, Hollywood announced an upcoming movie starring Christian Bale and Nicolas Cage as Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison; a crowdfunded documentary sprang up to ensure Hollywood’s version isn’t the last word on the rivalry; and Inman decided to throw The Oatmeal’s considerable Internet clout behind preserving Tesla’s laboratory and building a museum in his honor.
Being a true Austinite, Tyler said the logo tattoo was one of her first sponsorship offers when she and Duval began working on the event months ago. “All tattoos are about a story, whether you're telling the story or depicting it. So why would I be willing to tattoo sponsor logos or names on me for $5,000? Not only will it help fund the event, and give the sponsor lifetime advertising, but it's a helluva story for me to tell, later.”
As a woman who spends a lot of quality time in corsets, she also wanted to assure sponsors their logos would get plenty of exposure.
Tyler owns The Mysterium, a steampunk-themed online store. She’s also hosted Austin’s monthly Beer Brass and BS steampunk event for the last two years. Duval is one of the co-founders of Plutopia Productions, a local event planning and production company which creates what they describe as “future based sense events” including technology, music and interactive entertainment.
“The fact is, Sam is absolutely mad,” said Duval. “You have to be to launch a project like the Showdown, let alone sell her body for science...er...sponsorship. I could really get into a lot of trouble with this woman.”
Tyler countered that celebrating madness is what the Showdown at Unobtanium is all about. Thomas Edison invented the modern scientific laboratory as we know it. Nikola Tesla has been called the da Vinci of his era. Both scientists were known for quirks and idiosyncrasies that would have them on a fistfull of medications today. “The event will bring a new perspective to historical figures. It’ll be phrased in humor in a lot of ways, but I truly expect the views of everyone who goes to the Showdown will be challenged.”
If you don’t have $33,333 burning a hole in your pocket but still want to be part of the Tesla zeitgeist while also injecting dollars into Austin’s economy, Tyler’s arm is still available for tattooing.
“I can't think of anybody I'd like to work with more. I love the cut o' her jib,” said Duval. “And anyone who gets a tattoo will become part of one heck of a story. That’s the best currency in Austin.”
Showdown at Unobtainium is described as a "two day themed experiential event featuring music, vendors, strolling and stage actors, Vaudeville-style performances, and interactive art. (Art and tech installation creators will have a chance to win prizes.) The look and feel is Steampunk/Victorian/NeoVictorian/Dark Victorian/Weird West/DieselPunk/Clock Punk.". Find out more at the Showdown at Unobtainium website.
