: Bürger argues the historical avant-garde failed because it did not actually change social reality or end the separation of art and life. Instead, it was eventually absorbed by the very institutions it tried to destroy.
: He describes the postwar "neo-avant-garde" (like Pop Art or Nouveau Réalisme) as a "failed" repetition. In his view, these movements reused avant-garde methods (like the readymade) but as recognized "art," which institutionalized the original shock and turned revolutionary intent into a mere aesthetic style. Critical Responses Avant-Garde Neo-Avant-Garde (Avant-Garde Critic...
Bürger’s dismissal of the neo-avant-garde as "hollow repetition" has been heavily debated: Avant-Garde and Neo-Avant-Garde - Monoskop : Bürger argues the historical avant-garde failed because
: The avant-garde’s true goal was to destroy the "autonomy" of art—the idea that art should exist in its own special sphere (museums, galleries)—to merge it with the "praxis of life". In his view, these movements reused avant-garde methods