José Val del Omar

José Val del Omar was a director, photographer, and inventor, renowned for his innovative vision within the world of cinematography. Alongside María Zambrano, Luis Cernuda, and other members of the Spanish Silver Age, he participated in the Pedagogical Missions throughout the Second Republic. 

Val del Omar stood out for his capacity to transcend the conventional aspects of filmmaking, delving into the audiovisual realm through the creation of devices, formats, and patents. His works display a visionary and experimental quality, consistently rooted in his own concept of “total art”, which he termed as PLAT (Picto Luminous Audio Tactile). 

In 1974, he set up his laboratory in Madrid (which has been partially recreated in the Reina Sofía Museum), where he had access to a wide range of devices that he had been acquiring and collecting since the 1930s. Said devices served to aid in his visual and cinematic experimentation.