Joining the Dots

• Fill the Gaps - fragments might be interpreted as an incomplete whole. Sometimes the completion is uncontroversial - in a "show don't tell" narrative the reader fills in the unspoken detail; In a painting some standard details might be left unfinished or unpainted. But if there is doubt, something novel may appear in this gap. Eliot and Pound spoke of "emotion" in this context, but more likely some surreal image or blend may appear.
• Contrast - 2 objects (or patches of colour, or phrases) might be juxtaposed without an implied middle term. A bright pink square beside an orange circle is in itself a sensory experience. A flower growing through cracked concrete, (or a meeting of an umbrella with a sewing machine) might provoke thought
• Montage - fragments can be arranged so that the viewer is encouraged to make conections rather than follow directions. The rich mesh of association may well predominate over any particular fragment or pair of fragments.

• Art - the pink/orange contrast may be a sub-ordinate affect in a realist work - a nude against a sunset for example
• Music - A major-minor chord change that dominates a Minimalist work might only be a bass sub-motif in an orchestral work.
• Literature - Lists and rummaging through lofts are opportunities to juxtapose items. Juxtaposed, clashing sounds might be part of a smooth narrative in a poem.
  Narrative may be gratuitous - a "washing line" to string up nice images, or a way to get from one set-piece to another in a novel.