Action Poems

Arte como gente / Gente como arte

"Art as people / People as art" - This revolutionary philosophy transformed passive viewers into active participants, blurring the boundaries between artist, artwork, and audience.

During his London period (1970-1974), Diego Barboza created groundbreaking participatory performances that he called "Action Poems" (Acciones Poéticas). These works democratized the creative process, inviting audiences to become co-creators rather than mere spectators.

Barboza's Action Poems exemplified the spirit of the 1970s counterculture movement while establishing him as one of Latin America's first true pioneers of conceptual and performance art. His work predated and influenced the global development of participatory art practices.