Austrian artist Valie Export, who fiercely contested the male gaze and patriarchal society through provocative performances and films, has died at 85. Her work, a continuous challenge to societal norms, redefined how women interacted with public spaces.

Export’s performances, such as 'Genital Panic' in 1968, where she walked among cinema spectators in crotchless pants, forced viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about the male-dominated art world. She also performed 'Tapp und Tastkino', inviting strangers to touch her bare breasts, blurring boundaries between spectator and performer.

As a professor of multimedia and performance at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Export continued to influence future generations with her groundbreaking work. Her 2008 piece using a microscopic camera, capturing the internal workings of her body while reciting words, further solidified her belief in the unconstrained female voice.

‘Women’s Art: A Manifesto’ (1972) and her role as curator of the revolutionary exhibition MAGNA. Feminism: Art and Creativity in 1975 underscored Export's commitment to promoting women’s art, pushing back against male-centric norms. Despite progress, she noted that current challenges might even be more intense.

Export’s legacy is one of relentless activism and innovative art. Her struggle for authentic female representation remains as relevant today as it was during her lifetime.