In 1967, in a radical gesture, the artist VALIE EXPORT shed both her father’s and husband’s names to take on a new identity, simultaneously announcing her presence on the art scene. VALIE EXPORT SMART EXPORT shows the artist posing defiantly in the style of the youth protest movement of the late 1960s, holding a package of Austrian Smart Export cigarettes with her own face and logo mounted on it. A similar act of provocation is at the root of four iconic portraits titled Identity Transfer (see next image), which show the artist impersonating a pimp, dressed in tight black trousers, a curly, shorthaired wig, heavy gold necklaces and bracelets, and exaggerated makeup. The resulting images call into question conventional gender roles and reflect a moment in history when male and female clothing and hairstyles merged.