Valie Exoport born in 1940 is an austrian artist who works in several different mediums, he most famous works are her provocative public performances.
Context behind her works
As a feminist it was only natural for her art to show this, behind her art was a meaningful message about women’s bodies and the attitude people had towards women. her art would flip what we would see as something sexualizing women into the women’s body sexualizing’s that object. she did this through many different ways, including pain and damage to her body.
Body Sign Action (1970)
Within 1970, artist Valie Export did a had a live performance , Body Sign Action, where she was tattooed on the top of her thigh. The tattoos was a image of a garter and the top of a stocking. Although the tattoo maybe seem meaningless to some, this is a massively empowering tattoo, I have found a website explaining the context below the photo. it is suggested that this is the first time a tattoo has been used within fine art.
By showing a physical meaning to how she feels, objectified and sexlized by men she has taken a stand in one of the most permanent ways possible. This then makes it an em-powering movement and taking control of her own body. within the text is a quote from herself.
This shows how even though she wants to fight the sense that women are repressed both within a sexual way but also sexulized for being a women.
This videos explains her works, but also about ‘Body Sign Action and what it is and the meaning behind it and her works. within this videos is also a deeper exploration of feminism at the time and how much of an impact Export brought to art as she was the only female in the movement at the time.
Within this video Export talks about the reasoning behind why she choose her name, that export was a way for her to push everything away and be who she is with no one else name. creating her own identity and image, this would soon become her own brand. within her art use uses herself and her name is herself there for her art and herself became one.
Valie Export’s works
Contextually my art and hers does not have much in common, expect both wanting to change common social issues that are around us. But i still find inspiration within her work, and how she has completed it. As i have used my body for my art and in order to get it to where i want to be i have brought physical harm to myself in order to fight these issues.
Another contextual matter that it develops on from my own, is the right to be fighting for everyone to be equal no matter who, what or where you have come from. just as she is fighting for women to be equal and not objectified.