etoy

Etoy is a European digital art group. Etoy won several international awards including the Prix Ars Electronica in 1996. Their main slogan is: "leaving reality behind."

1992, summer: zai launches the 156 number HIRN-lein.
1993-1994: before etoy, zai/bernhard collaboration.
university of applied arts in vienna, prof. p. weibel
HIRN-lein
1994, autumn: founding meeting of etoy in Weggis.
1994, Vienna: teacher Franz Prenz shows the web to zai/bernhard.

"I only knew about it when penz showed me and zak/zai, and he didn't only show us the web.. the moment I understood was when I was on the shell level, having 3-4 remote windowns in different cities, it was so strong, because it was not clear where this exactly happened, wheter I was in tokyo [I knew I wasn't, hehehe], or the computer was somwhere else.. that IS the internet, this uncertainity what is where and when and why and how... and then, we first setup a BBS [before we knew about the net collectively], then penz showed us the net [and at the same time, goldstein and gino, eventually also udatny and gramazio went to the university to get their "illegal" accounts]."

end of 1994: the name etoy is found, first version of the website.

1995: launch of first etoy website
1995, september: launch of etoy.SOUND-TRACK series fails.

1999: Toywar

2001, December: "on xmas 2001, at a party in his house, Joi Ito gave me Robert Anton Wilson’s ”˜COSMIC TRIGGER’. i was in the worst shape ever and he helped me to discover a new dimension of reality without selling me some silly washing powder, truth or another religion." (etoy.ZAI)

Sources:
http://www.etoy.com/blog/archive/2007/01/12/bon-voyage-robert-anton-wilson.html
http://www.hansbernhard.com/etoy/etoy_PUBLICATIONS/publications_about/etoyBOOK_LEAVING_REALITY_BEHIND/etoy_BRAINHARD_LEAVING2002.html

---