This study by Ángel Rosenblat (1902–84), the Argentinean philologist and linguist—born in Poland and who became a Venezuelan citizen in 1950—in great measure contributes to the understanding of contemporary phenomena: social transformation and globalization, that without a doubt, does not affect the Spanish language alone. These phenomena were foreshadowed by the linguist in 1975 and today they are conclusive fact; they are also applicable to numerous variants of other languages. Among them those of the visual arts that arose beginning in the 1970s in Latin American countries as well as in Latino communities in the United States and other parts of the world.
Even though Rosenblat dedicates a good part of his essay to an in depth analysis and examination of other languages (eras and cultures), the entire essay was included because it offers a vision based on statistics and extensive, rigorous studies on language. With relation to the visual arts, Rosenblat’s study is pertinent for its axiological recognition that the linguist assigns to the value of the distinctive features of diverse national cultures, without this destroying the idea of a Latin American continuity that continues to practice unifying values. This occurs under patterns arising from the ideas most rooted (including the most recent) in visual culture, which show Rosenblat to be in full agreement with Mexican philosopher Leopoldo Zea. Above all, when he maintains that—even when Latin America follows Europe or the United States—it will follow them according to the degree to which those nations feel and need that imitation. It is worth remembering that the pre-Hispanics were the only true “originals,” according to Octavio Paz.
Among the various topics of this essay, it is interesting to highlight the part dedicated to “utopias” of a universal language, as well as the historical examples the author offers. Without a doubt, the search for a “universalism” in signs is another great preoccupation of the visual arts; some artists even researched linguistics such as occurred with the “panlingual” project created by Argentinean painter Xul Solar in the 1920s, which aspired to contain within all the signifiers and meanings of all the languages in the world.