einforcing the work's continuity rather than detracting from it. In a work of art, such breaks provide a sense of rest and give contrast to the action that surrounds them. In addition, they serve the purpose of providing accents to the work as a whole. Dewey uses the example of music in order to explain this aspect of aesthetic continuity. In his words: "A pause in music is not a blank, but is a rhythmic silence that punctuates what is done while at the same time it conveys an impulsion forward, instead of arresting at the point which it defines" (Art as Experience, 1934, p. 172). The same principle can be applied to other forms of art, as well. For example, painters often make use of empty or open space in order to provide contrast to other parts of the canvas which are filled with pictorial detail.
Although Dewey stresses the importance of organic unity in defining the consummatory experience, at the same time he notes that "there is no sacrifice of the self-identity of the parts" (Art as Experience, 1934, p. 36). Despite the sense of continuity that characterizes the overall experience, the separate parts of the experience always retain their sense of individual identity. This idea also applies to the aesthetic experience of art. Thus, "in a work of art, different acts, episodes, occurrences melt and fuse into unity, and yet do not disappear and lose their own character as they do so" (p. 37). Works of art are further unified by the fact that they gen
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