"Happenings" are a form of participatory new media art, emphasizing an interaction between the performer and the audience. Breaking the fourth wall between "performer" and "spectator", it replaces criticism with support. While it includes everyone present in the making of the art, the form of the art depends on the engagement of the audience, for they are a key factor in where the performers' spontaneity leads. There are no set rules, only vague guidelines that the performers follow based on surrounding props. Unlike other forms of art, "Happenings" are ever-changing. Because only chance determines the path the performance will follow, there is no room for failure. As Kaprow writes in his essay, '"Happenings" in the New York Scene', "Visitors to a Happening are now and then not sure what has taken place, when it has ended, even when things have gone 'wrong'.
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