VAL DEL OMAR

A creator of extraordinary artistic and technological talent, a “believer in cinema” inspired by new horizons that he articulated through the acronym PLAT—standing for the all-encompassing concept of Picto-Luminous-Audio-Tactile—Val del Omar was a contemporary and companion of Lorca, Cernuda, Renau, Zambrano, and other leading figures of a Spanish Silver Age cut short by the Civil War.

As early as 1928, he anticipated several of the techniques that would become hallmarks of his practice, including the “apanoramic overflow of the image” beyond the boundaries of the screen and the concept of “tactile vision.” These techniques, together with “diaphonic sound” and other explorations of the sonic realm, would later be brought to bear on his Elemental Triptych of Spain, begun in 1952 and only completed posthumously.

His body of work and relentless experimental research—pursued in the face of incomprehension and neglect—only began to be rediscovered shortly before his death. This rediscovery, however, marked the beginning of a revival that continues to attract new audiences and advocates. “Without end,” as he would write at the close of his films.