In visual composition, a line's length is a concept of time, and a curved line represents more time than a straight line of equal length

Kandinsky argues that the element of time is discernible in the line to a much greater extent than in the point: length is a concept of time. Furthermore, the time required to follow a curved line is different from that required for a straight line of equal measured length — the more animated the curved line, the longer the span of time it represents. Horizontal and vertical lines of equal length carry different inner colorations of time: the horizontal applies to the cold rest axis, the vertical to warm rest. This makes line a temporal compositional tool, not merely a spatial one. For audio-visual live coding, this opens a direct structural mapping: the duration of a musical phrase can be encoded in the length and curvature of a visual line, and the temporal complexity of a melody can be read in the animatedness of its corresponding visual path.

Examples

A long, gently curved line represents extended time with moderate temporal richness. A short, tightly spiraling line represents brief but temporally dense time. A long straight horizontal line = extended cold-rest time, like a sustained drone. A short vertical stroke = brief warm-active time, like a staccato accent.

Assessment

Map a 4-bar musical phrase to a visual line: (a) encode phrase length as line length, (b) encode melodic contour as curvature direction, (c) encode rhythmic density as curvature frequency. Compare the result with a plain horizontal line of the same length. Describe what the curvature adds to the time reading.