John Cage: Composing Art for Different People

John Cage, being the inquisitive, innovative, artist that he is, poses an idea that I had never considered... Geography influences audience perception of art! But does it? He seems to think so, yet I have never heard such an argument.
"Notice audiences at high altitudes and audiences in northern countries tend to be attentive during performances while audiences at sea level or in warm countries voice their feelings whenever they have them."
This seems like a cultural difference too me, but is it actually possible that art is perceived and interpreted differently in various parts of the world? I think this question could be best answered by first doing a case study of audiences across the world in varying regions and recording their reactions to the performances. What really needs to be answered though, is the notion of whether or not an artist has a better chance of being well received or even successful in different locations. I have simply never entertained such a question, but now that it has been presented I cannot think of an answer.

I suppose that an artist in a remote town in Africa or a war-torn city in the Middle East most likely does not have as good a chance of getting recognized as would an artist in a metropolitan city, but this still does not touch on the question at hand. Could it really be possible that two artists with the same style and form from the same small town could travel to two separate places and one gain notoriety while the other falls into obscurity? I assume this must have happened before at some point in history, but when, where, and most importantly, why?
I am not sure where this north/south/sea level audience distinction was made, or by who, but it really is fascinating. Is it that people from the south are more outspoken? Could he really be implying that maybe there's something in the water or even worse, our genes? I just can't wrap my mind around this quandary. Cage does touch on other topics in this brief 3 page diary entry, but this idea of a 'family reunion', 'people in the round', and the notion of an art 'meeting house' in relationship to how an audience as a whole responds to and absorbs the material presented to them is simply something I have never been confronted with. Fascinating, I must say.