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Valie Export: Feminist Art Icon, 85, Dies
15 May
Summary
- Austrian artist Valie Export died at 85 in Vienna.
- Her 1968 'Tap and Touch Cinema' shocked audiences.
- Export challenged female objectification in art.
Austrian performance artist and filmmaker Valie Export has died at the age of 85. She passed away in Vienna, just days before her 86th birthday. Export gained notoriety in the late 1960s for her daring low-budget performances that challenged societal norms and exposed the objectification of women.
Her most controversial work, 'Tapp und Tastkino' from 1968, invited public interaction with her body in Vienna's city center. Another significant piece, 'Geburtenbett' (Birth Bed), displayed at the 1980 Venice Biennale, further explored themes of female anatomy and societal constructs.
Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, Export adopted her unique alias to distance herself from familial names. She was a co-founder of the Austrian Filmmakers Cooperative in 1968 and her work has been featured in major international exhibitions including documenta and the Venice Biennale, where she was among the first women to represent Austria.
Export also had a career in academia, serving as a professor of multimedia and performance. Her influence continues, with artists like Marina Abramović re-enacting her seminal works, ensuring her legacy in feminist art endures.
