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簡介 /
玩轉資本主義及科技
etoy·CORPORATION於1994年在瑞士楚格市成立，以推廣文化價值為前題，提供平台予繪畫藝術家，一起分享彼此的知識、技能和資源，讓藝術家們到傳統藝術家去不到的地方冒險。為etoy開放平台貢獻過的藝術家皆擁有「etoy股息」，當中純為 文化性質交流。etoy亦是互聯網藝術的先鋒，在1995年建立第一個網上藝術協作平台dot-com。etoy透過進行爭議性的行動不斷定義它的價值及主張，當中包括於1996年數碼劫持150萬搜索引擎用戶、於2000年與資金雄厚的美元公司爭奪域名「TOYWAR」及其創造的「etoy坦克流動展」自1998年以來在航運貨櫃裡走遍全球等。大部份的作品均為非賣品，免費在網上提供給觀眾。
玩轉資本主義及科技
etoy·CORPORATION於1994年在瑞士楚格市成立，以推廣文化價值為前題，提供平台予繪畫藝術家，一起分享彼此的知識、技能和資源，讓藝術家們到傳統藝術家去不到的地方冒險。為etoy開放平台貢獻過的藝術家皆擁有「etoy股息」，當中純為 文化性質交流。etoy亦是互聯網藝術的先鋒，在1995年建立第一個網上藝術協作平台dot-com。etoy透過進行爭議性的行動不斷定義它的價值及主張，當中包括於1996年數碼劫持150萬搜索引擎用戶、於2000年與資金雄厚的美元公司爭奪域名「TOYWAR」及其創造的「etoy坦克流動展」自1998年以來在航運貨櫃裡走遍全球等。大部份的作品均為非賣品，免費在網上提供給觀眾。
作品 /
在地「他駡他群」的永恒任務
F71806059E4A2EC3
用8個無靈魂的球體喚醒利亞里博士
永恆任務是etoy自2005年開始發展的項目；它是一個探尋死後生命的數碼文化計劃，創作意念源自人過世後雖没有實體留下，但於不同平台會有大量的資訊存在。這一個死後存在的形式出現於全球記憶、政府數據庫、家庭檔案及社會網絡中。M∞是個致力保護這些人類遺骸至永恆的項目。
M∞邀請凡人成為數碼偷渡者，永恆地穿梭時間與空間。參與者可設計和建造一個迷你奧秘膠囊，這個膠囊是個獨有的32MB數據收集器，所有數碼資訊皆以開放格式存儲在內。參加者能把任何數據存於他們的迷你奧秘膠囊，包括聲音樣本、情書、法律文件、心電圖記錄、繪畫、ASCII筆記、照片、官方文件或任何參加者想儲存的東西。在工作坊結束時，膠囊會連接到永恆任務的偷渡儲存器，透過在一個名為永恆任務天使的社交網絡系統裡無休止地被拷貝，使數據永遠存活著。目前已有1132人捐出了他們硬盤的一部份成為這個社交網絡系統，讓往生者永恆地存於世上。
在地「他駡他群」的永恒任務
F71806059E4A2EC3
用8個無靈魂的球體喚醒利亞里博士
永恆任務是etoy自2005年開始發展的項目；它是一個探尋死後生命的數碼文化計劃，創作意念源自人過世後雖没有實體留下，但於不同平台會有大量的資訊存在。這一個死後存在的形式出現於全球記憶、政府數據庫、家庭檔案及社會網絡中。M∞是個致力保護這些人類遺骸至永恆的項目。
M∞邀請凡人成為數碼偷渡者，永恆地穿梭時間與空間。參與者可設計和建造一個迷你奧秘膠囊，這個膠囊是個獨有的32MB數據收集器，所有數碼資訊皆以開放格式存儲在內。參加者能把任何數據存於他們的迷你奧秘膠囊，包括聲音樣本、情書、法律文件、心電圖記錄、繪畫、ASCII筆記、照片、官方文件或任何參加者想儲存的東西。在工作坊結束時，膠囊會連接到永恆任務的偷渡儲存器，透過在一個名為永恆任務天使的社交網絡系統裡無休止地被拷貝，使數據永遠存活著。目前已有1132人捐出了他們硬盤的一部份成為這個社交網絡系統，讓往生者永恆地存於世上。
問與答 /
為什麼人渴望永恆的存在／ 為什麼人希望把生存的痕跡永恆地留於世上？
人們是否要留下痕跡已經過時，因為我們去任何地方、一舉一動都會留下痕跡。這個情況在數碼領域裡有一個戲劇性的轉變，我們所留下的痕跡不僅是數據的多少，亦涉及數據的質素，例如被搜索到的可能性和與其他數據的連接量。我們的數據不斷自我繁殖和變異，甚至不受我們控制地獨立發展。
當中隱含著關於我們的興趣、問題和慾望。自動化、網上行程誌、簡介及各類型的電腦應用創造了現在和未來的態度及行為，我們都在永恆的數碼道路上。我們傾向於收集、學習、儲存、分享和交易，在過程中形成私人／企業／政治數據的存檔和連繫。這是合理的、有趣的，但同時又是可怕的。永恆任務不是一個服務，這是一個把觀眾放到主控椅的藝術項目。與其擔驚受怕，倒不如由我們在這個遊戲裡採取主動；讓我們設計和發送一個探測儀去調查那可怕、有前境和引人入勝的記憶文化的 未來。
你相信「來世」的心靈解釋嗎?
借助藝術來代替宗教並不是etoy特工成立這項目的目的。「來世」是無可否認的。永恆任務是百份百的推測與投機。在技術的層面上，來世在宗教來說是一個虛擬真實。創建個人後世的多向烏托邦（不限於訊息技術層面）是嚴苛困惑的，但也是有趣解放的，因為在創建的過程中，能拋開很多枯燥乏味的約束。「把真實拋諸腦後」是etoy的重要格言；把真實拋諸腦後讓我們看到更多「真實」及其改變。我們顯然正處於一個極端的過渡期，當前市場的動盪只有一些關於全球化或數碼化的示威，西方社會沉迷於數字之中且正努力對抗由其帶來的後果。數碼爆發是其中一種對策，而電玩選擇指出並戲玩這方面的改變。藝術的結構開放，容許我們任意試驗。當然我們相信記憶文化不只是數碼化的副產品，它是人類本性的核心。我們現在所知的是：記憶是為了忘記、記憶是為了真實、記憶是為了放開是為了永恆，在知道會忘記的大前題下，記憶是為了接受我們正編寫歷史和操縱未來。
如果下個文明的外星人或人類最終發現這些我們遺留下來的數據，你覺得他們會怎樣處理這些數據？
他們會以為這是如瑪雅文明般的預言嗎？
etoy特工並不在意外星人或其他未來生物的想法。這些生物會做牠們想做的事，去預計牠們的行動是很幼稚的，因此etoy其實不在乎被儲存下來的數據的質素。這些etoy收集到的數碼粒子是免費的，這是整個行動裡重要的策略，没有人知道及能控制這個項目最後的成果。etoy．CORPORATION嘗試把這些數據的死亡率減到最低，希望數據能蔓延、分裂、複製甚至為了生存而產生變異。去引起注意和成為一個更大系統的一份子是首要的條件。我們希望能建造一條連接現在與未來的通道，當中涉及到技術層面、法律後果、經濟問題及美學的決定，而我們必須察覺此刻的決定及相關的事物將會隨著時間一直變遷。
我們主要的任務是製造一個穩定而具吸引力的系統，令它盡可能存活於世上。藝術是現有最好的範疇，因為它能接受這具爭議性的項目，並不會強行把一個明確而狹窄的目標加諸於項目，而我們的唯一目標就是未來。
為什麼人渴望永恆的存在／ 為什麼人希望把生存的痕跡永恆地留於世上？
人們是否要留下痕跡已經過時，因為我們去任何地方、一舉一動都會留下痕跡。這個情況在數碼領域裡有一個戲劇性的轉變，我們所留下的痕跡不僅是數據的多少，亦涉及數據的質素，例如被搜索到的可能性和與其他數據的連接量。我們的數據不斷自我繁殖和變異，甚至不受我們控制地獨立發展。
當中隱含著關於我們的興趣、問題和慾望。自動化、網上行程誌、簡介及各類型的電腦應用創造了現在和未來的態度及行為，我們都在永恆的數碼道路上。我們傾向於收集、學習、儲存、分享和交易，在過程中形成私人／企業／政治數據的存檔和連繫。這是合理的、有趣的，但同時又是可怕的。永恆任務不是一個服務，這是一個把觀眾放到主控椅的藝術項目。與其擔驚受怕，倒不如由我們在這個遊戲裡採取主動；讓我們設計和發送一個探測儀去調查那可怕、有前境和引人入勝的記憶文化的 未來。
你相信「來世」的心靈解釋嗎?
借助藝術來代替宗教並不是etoy特工成立這項目的目的。「來世」是無可否認的。永恆任務是百份百的推測與投機。在技術的層面上，來世在宗教來說是一個虛擬真實。創建個人後世的多向烏托邦（不限於訊息技術層面）是嚴苛困惑的，但也是有趣解放的，因為在創建的過程中，能拋開很多枯燥乏味的約束。「把真實拋諸腦後」是etoy的重要格言；把真實拋諸腦後讓我們看到更多「真實」及其改變。我們顯然正處於一個極端的過渡期，當前市場的動盪只有一些關於全球化或數碼化的示威，西方社會沉迷於數字之中且正努力對抗由其帶來的後果。數碼爆發是其中一種對策，而電玩選擇指出並戲玩這方面的改變。藝術的結構開放，容許我們任意試驗。當然我們相信記憶文化不只是數碼化的副產品，它是人類本性的核心。我們現在所知的是：記憶是為了忘記、記憶是為了真實、記憶是為了放開是為了永恆，在知道會忘記的大前題下，記憶是為了接受我們正編寫歷史和操縱未來。
如果下個文明的外星人或人類最終發現這些我們遺留下來的數據，你覺得他們會怎樣處理這些數據？
他們會以為這是如瑪雅文明般的預言嗎？
etoy特工並不在意外星人或其他未來生物的想法。這些生物會做牠們想做的事，去預計牠們的行動是很幼稚的，因此etoy其實不在乎被儲存下來的數據的質素。這些etoy收集到的數碼粒子是免費的，這是整個行動裡重要的策略，没有人知道及能控制這個項目最後的成果。etoy．CORPORATION嘗試把這些數據的死亡率減到最低，希望數據能蔓延、分裂、複製甚至為了生存而產生變異。去引起注意和成為一個更大系統的一份子是首要的條件。我們希望能建造一條連接現在與未來的通道，當中涉及到技術層面、法律後果、經濟問題及美學的決定，而我們必須察覺此刻的決定及相關的事物將會隨著時間一直變遷。
我們主要的任務是製造一個穩定而具吸引力的系統，令它盡可能存活於世上。藝術是現有最好的範疇，因為它能接受這具爭議性的項目，並不會強行把一個明確而狹窄的目標加諸於項目，而我們的唯一目標就是未來。
Introduction /
TWISTING CAPITALISM AND TECHNOLOGY SINCE 1994
etoy.CORPORATION is a limited company incorporated in the city of Zug, Switzerland. It was founded in 1994 for the sole purpose of promoting cultural values by drawing artists together to share their knowledge, skills, risk, excitement, resources, networks, art, technologies and cultural/social profits. Artists who contribute to etoy.OEUVRE are entitled to etoy.SHARES and all dividends thereof are of purely cultural nature. etoy allows artists to go where traditional artists cannot risk going. It is known for pioneering internet art by establishing the first dot-com art collective back in 1995. etoy has incessantly defined its values and stance through controversial operations including its digital hijack of 1.5 million search engine users in 1996, its battle with a multi-billion dollar company over the domain name “TOYWAR” in 2000, and its creation of etoy.TANKS, a mobile exhibition in shipping containers that has traveled the globe since 1998. Most etoy.WORKs are not for purchase, trade or collection. They are free and available online.
TWISTING CAPITALISM AND TECHNOLOGY SINCE 1994
etoy.CORPORATION is a limited company incorporated in the city of Zug, Switzerland. It was founded in 1994 for the sole purpose of promoting cultural values by drawing artists together to share their knowledge, skills, risk, excitement, resources, networks, art, technologies and cultural/social profits. Artists who contribute to etoy.OEUVRE are entitled to etoy.SHARES and all dividends thereof are of purely cultural nature. etoy allows artists to go where traditional artists cannot risk going. It is known for pioneering internet art by establishing the first dot-com art collective back in 1995. etoy has incessantly defined its values and stance through controversial operations including its digital hijack of 1.5 million search engine users in 1996, its battle with a multi-billion dollar company over the domain name “TOYWAR” in 2000, and its creation of etoy.TANKS, a mobile exhibition in shipping containers that has traveled the globe since 1998. Most etoy.WORKs are not for purchase, trade or collection. They are free and available online.
Exhibition /
MISSION ETERNITY TAMATAR (2011)
SWARM F71806059E4A2EC3 evoking
Dr. Timothy Leary in a swarm of 8 inspirited objects
Since 2005, etoy has worked on this project of MISSION ETERNITY. It is a digital cult that explores life after death. The concept behind this project stems from the fact that after death we leave behind nothing in this world but some remains in the form of massive information. In this form, the dead continues its existence as biomass and traces in the global memory, government database, family archives and social networks. M∞ is a project dedicated to conserve these human remains to eternity.
M∞ invites human mortals to become digital stowaways who travel space and time forever. The participant can design and construct a MINI ARCANUM CAPSULE, which is a unique data collection of 32MB, with any information that can be electronically stored in open formats. Participants are not restricted as to what they can store in their individual MINI ARCANUM CAPSULE. It can be voice samples, love letters, legal documents, ECG recordings, drawings, ASCII notes, photos, official documents or anything that can define the participants. At the end of the workshop, the capsules are inserted into the MISSION ETERNITY STOWAWAY STORAGE, which keeps the data in the capsules alive and forever by way of endlessly making copies of the data in the social network system called MISSION ETERNITY ANGELS. Currently 1132 people have donated part of their hard disk space to this social network system in view of causing the existence of the dead to be everlasting.
MISSION ETERNITY TAMATAR (2011)
SWARM F71806059E4A2EC3 evoking
Dr. Timothy Leary in a swarm of 8 inspirited objects
Since 2005, etoy has worked on this project of MISSION ETERNITY. It is a digital cult that explores life after death. The concept behind this project stems from the fact that after death we leave behind nothing in this world but some remains in the form of massive information. In this form, the dead continues its existence as biomass and traces in the global memory, government database, family archives and social networks. M∞ is a project dedicated to conserve these human remains to eternity.
M∞ invites human mortals to become digital stowaways who travel space and time forever. The participant can design and construct a MINI ARCANUM CAPSULE, which is a unique data collection of 32MB, with any information that can be electronically stored in open formats. Participants are not restricted as to what they can store in their individual MINI ARCANUM CAPSULE. It can be voice samples, love letters, legal documents, ECG recordings, drawings, ASCII notes, photos, official documents or anything that can define the participants. At the end of the workshop, the capsules are inserted into the MISSION ETERNITY STOWAWAY STORAGE, which keeps the data in the capsules alive and forever by way of endlessly making copies of the data in the social network system called MISSION ETERNITY ANGELS. Currently 1132 people have donated part of their hard disk space to this social network system in view of causing the existence of the dead to be everlasting.
Q & A /
Why do people want to exist forever and/or why do people want to leave their mark on this world forever?
The question of whether people want to leave marks or not is obsolete. We all leave traces wherever we go with every move, physically or virtually. In the digital realm, this leads to a dramatic shift based on not just the quantity of the data but the qualities of it such as searchability or interconnectivity. Our digital selves constantly multiply and mutate, and even take actions to a large extent independent and far away from our influence. Potential interests, questions (google) and desires can be mapped out. Automation, scheduling, profiling and other computer processes create forecasts about behaviours and actions that happen now and in the future. We are all on our way to multiple digital eternities. The problem with private/ corporate/political archiving and the linking of all the data is a result of our tendency to collect, learn, store, share and trade. It’s logical, interesting and terrible at the same time. MISSION ETERNITY is not a service. It’s an art project that puts the USER into the pilot seat. Instead of being scared or paralyzed we decided to take an active role in the game. We design and send out sondes to investigate the horrible, promising and fascinating future of MEMORY CULTURE.
Do you believe in the more spiritual interpretation of afterlife?
To use art as a surrogate for religions is not what etoy.AGENTS had in mind for the project. It’s impossible to deny: AFTERLIFE. MISSION ETERNITY is 100% PROJECTION & SPECULATION. Technically speaking, afterlife is a VIRTUAL REALITY as the typical domain of religion. Cultivating your own meta utopia with many layers (not just on the information technology front) is demanding and confusing but is also interesting and liberating because many boring constraints can be ignored. “Leaving reality behind...” is one of the main etoy slogans. By leaving it behind we learn more about “reality” and its transformation. Obviously we are in the middle of an extreme transition in which the current market dramas are just some of the possible manifestations of globalization and digitization. Western society is obsessed with information and tries to deal with the consequences. Digital agony is one option. Addressing and playing with aspects of the transformation is etoy’s way. The field of art allows us to experiment in a very open configuration. Of course we believe that all this matters: memory culture is not just a side effect of digitization. It’s at the core of human nature. What we know by now: to remember is to forget, to remember is to be realistic, to remember is to let go is to be forever and ever, to remember - knowing that we forget - is to accept that we create history and manipulate the future.
If aliens or people from the next civilization eventually access these data, what do you think they will do with them? Would they interpret them as some kind of prophecy like some have done with the Mayan civilization?
etoy.AGENTS do not care so much about the judgement of aliens or other futurebeings. These creatures will do what they want. It would be very naive to try to make a forecast. That’s why etoy does not pay too much attention to the quality of the stored information. The digital particles etoy collects are FREE. That’s a very essential part of the mission strategy. Nobody can control or know where this will lead us. etoy. CORPORATION tries to limit the mortality rate of the files to the lowest possible that the bits and bytes will spread, split, copy even mutate just to survive. Generating attention and being part of a larger system is the key. What we want to achieve is to build a bridge between now and the future. This involves technical aspects, legal consequences, economic problems or aesthetic decisions that have to be made here and now keeping in mind that all these aspects and their relevance will constantly change over time.
Our main job is to make the system more or less stable and attractive enough so it survives for as long as possible. Art is currently the best field in which one can undertake such a questionable project without being forced to have a very clear and narrow minded TARGET. Our only target is the future.
Why do people want to exist forever and/or why do people want to leave their mark on this world forever?
The question of whether people want to leave marks or not is obsolete. We all leave traces wherever we go with every move, physically or virtually. In the digital realm, this leads to a dramatic shift based on not just the quantity of the data but the qualities of it such as searchability or interconnectivity. Our digital selves constantly multiply and mutate, and even take actions to a large extent independent and far away from our influence. Potential interests, questions (google) and desires can be mapped out. Automation, scheduling, profiling and other computer processes create forecasts about behaviours and actions that happen now and in the future. We are all on our way to multiple digital eternities. The problem with private/ corporate/political archiving and the linking of all the data is a result of our tendency to collect, learn, store, share and trade. It’s logical, interesting and terrible at the same time. MISSION ETERNITY is not a service. It’s an art project that puts the USER into the pilot seat. Instead of being scared or paralyzed we decided to take an active role in the game. We design and send out sondes to investigate the horrible, promising and fascinating future of MEMORY CULTURE.
Do you believe in the more spiritual interpretation of afterlife?
To use art as a surrogate for religions is not what etoy.AGENTS had in mind for the project. It’s impossible to deny: AFTERLIFE. MISSION ETERNITY is 100% PROJECTION & SPECULATION. Technically speaking, afterlife is a VIRTUAL REALITY as the typical domain of religion. Cultivating your own meta utopia with many layers (not just on the information technology front) is demanding and confusing but is also interesting and liberating because many boring constraints can be ignored. “Leaving reality behind...” is one of the main etoy slogans. By leaving it behind we learn more about “reality” and its transformation. Obviously we are in the middle of an extreme transition in which the current market dramas are just some of the possible manifestations of globalization and digitization. Western society is obsessed with information and tries to deal with the consequences. Digital agony is one option. Addressing and playing with aspects of the transformation is etoy’s way. The field of art allows us to experiment in a very open configuration. Of course we believe that all this matters: memory culture is not just a side effect of digitization. It’s at the core of human nature. What we know by now: to remember is to forget, to remember is to be realistic, to remember is to let go is to be forever and ever, to remember - knowing that we forget - is to accept that we create history and manipulate the future.
If aliens or people from the next civilization eventually access these data, what do you think they will do with them? Would they interpret them as some kind of prophecy like some have done with the Mayan civilization?
etoy.AGENTS do not care so much about the judgement of aliens or other futurebeings. These creatures will do what they want. It would be very naive to try to make a forecast. That’s why etoy does not pay too much attention to the quality of the stored information. The digital particles etoy collects are FREE. That’s a very essential part of the mission strategy. Nobody can control or know where this will lead us. etoy. CORPORATION tries to limit the mortality rate of the files to the lowest possible that the bits and bytes will spread, split, copy even mutate just to survive. Generating attention and being part of a larger system is the key. What we want to achieve is to build a bridge between now and the future. This involves technical aspects, legal consequences, economic problems or aesthetic decisions that have to be made here and now keeping in mind that all these aspects and their relevance will constantly change over time.
Our main job is to make the system more or less stable and attractive enough so it survives for as long as possible. Art is currently the best field in which one can undertake such a questionable project without being forced to have a very clear and narrow minded TARGET. Our only target is the future.
