Ottar Ormstad

Ottar Ormstad has published several books of concrete poetry. He has presented video-poems and exhibited darkroom-produced photography, and also graphic art and letterprints based on his concrete poetry. In 2009, he produced his first video called ‘LYMS’ which is screened in 20 countries, including e-poetry2009 in Barcelona and the Zebra Film Poetry Festival in Berlin 2010. The video ‘when’ premiered at e-poetry2011 in Buffalo, New York.

Ormstad’s web-poem ‘svevedikt’ (2006) was selected for the “ELMCIP Anthology of European Electronic Literature” (2012), and 'when' was selected for the 3rd collection of the Electronic Literature Organization, ELC. 

In an article titled ‘driving down the road of continuity?’ published in Dichtung Digital 42, Ormstad reflects upon his artistic practices from book publications, exhibitions, to digital concrete poetry. In 2017 he wrote the essay 'Playing with letters and fonts' in the online magazine Poetry Film Channel. The gallery of Norwegian graphic artists in Oslo (Galleri norske grafikere) presented a solo-exhibition of visual poetry based on the film "when" by Ormstad in October 2013.

Since 2014 Ormstad has collaborated with the Russian composer Taras Mashtalir under the name OTTARAS. So far they have presented six works in screening versions, which have been converted to basics for their performances in San Francisco, Bergen, Porto, Montreal and other places.