Provocative Austrian feminist artist Valie Export dies at 85

May 14 (Reuters) - Austrian ‌artist Valie ​Export, ​whose pioneering work and performance art made her a leading light of ‌the avant-garde feminist scene in postwar Europe, ⁠has died in Vienna at the age of 85, ‌her foundation said on ‌Thursday.

Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, Export married young and had a daughter while ​still a teenager. The girl grew up in the family of the artist's sister ⁠after Export decided she was not, as she once described ​it, cut out to be a housewife.

Moving to Vienna, she adopted in the ​1960s the pseudonym VALIE EXPORT, ‌partly based on her own nickname as well as on the name ⁠of a brand of cigarettes. Her capitalisation of the name was itself an act of empowerment, ⁠her foundation said.

Export famously appeared partially nude in public ​spaces early in her career to challenge attitudes about the female body and women's place in society. Her ‌provocative work would later explore conceptual art, video installations and cinema.

Among her ‌best-known works were the performance art of "Tapp- und ⁠Tastkino" and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik," ‌and later experimental ​films such as "Unsichtbare Gegner" and "Syntagma."

(Reporting by Dave Graham in Zurich; Editing by Matthew ‌Lewis)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• US CFTC seeks comment on compute derivatives as AI demand grows
• Exclusive-Mossad director, Syria foreign minister discussed Turkish military deployments before strikes, sources say
• Israeli airstrike kills nine Palestinians at Gaza police station, medics say