Facing a Family was created in 1971, and was originally broadcast on Austrian network television that same year. In this work, Valie Export holds a mirror up to the average Austrian family, and turns its attention to the way its habits and behavior have changed due to television.
Viewers of this work become the invisible observers of a family of four, who seem hypnotized by a television program they are watching while eating dinner. The traditional evening meal, which provided family members with the opportunity to discuss the day’s events while simultaneously enjoying a home-cooked meal, is replaced here by a different kind of dynamic. There is almost no eye contact and barely any talk between the family members, who seem to be mechanically eating what looks like a “TV dinner.” This short video work constitutes a poignant critique of television.
G. L.

Valie Export – born in Austria, 1942.

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