An avant-garde formal experiment turned hostile then sparked imitation in followers

Evidence

“When his turn came,” remembered Kowit, “Mac Low read an interminable piece that seemed utterly disembodied and pointless—even more pointless than the earnest poetry of the ordinary avant-garde.” Indeed, that pointlessness seemed the point. As Mac Low’s reading far exceeded the customary five-minute set, “a wave of grumbling spread through the audience,” escalating into whistles, catcalls, and Bronx cheers until “somebody jumped out of their seat to tell Mac Low to get the fuck off the stage before he kicked his lights out.” … Mac Low quickly finished, gathered his papers, and made a dignified return to his table, after which the entourage left en masse. Commotion ensued, coalesced into an impromptu meeting and resulted in a formal apology to Mac Low and an invitation to read by himself two nights later. Unexpectedly, the solo performance was a hit, “boring as hell and utterly exhilarating,” according to Kowit. “Immediately, everyone took to writing Jackson Mac Low poems: aleatoric concoctions based on chance operations.” — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 268

Categorization

• SEED: The hostility-then-canonization rhythm of avant-garde reception — a provocation rejected, then adopted — as a template for testing whether novelty cycles are culturally mandated or contingent.