The angular disjoint of rapid shifts in time signature is similar to the implementation of sharp contours in the visual arts. The visual artist’s use of sharp edges over rounded contours can lend the work a distinctive ‘visual’ aesthetic (Tinio and Leder 2008, p. 409). Pablo Tinio and Helmut Leder compare the visual impacts in two works by Picasso. The sharp angular lines used in Woman Ironing (1904) create a visual negative tension (Image 1). The use of rounded lines in Large Still Life with a Pedestal Table (1931) creates a flowing rhythmic effect (2008) (Image 2). The distinct shifts of 7/8 to 6/8 time signatures reveal a similar effect to the former Picasso work, though in this case, a sonic tension is created. The brick wall impact of shifting time signatures gives a musical composition a feeling of rigidity rather than a seamless progression (audio media 12).[4]
Image 1 (left), Image 2 (right)
