Dossy writes:

 > In Art, one creates something from nothing or at best nothing more
 > than inspiration.

Not so. Similar to the manner in which scientists build theories on
the shoulders of their predecessors, artists have centuries of
development in their discipline/genre, cultural standards,
expectations and leanings, without which they would have no framework
to build on.

Bach would not have been Bach if it weren't for the need for the
Western ear to want V to resolve to I (which took hold when ... around
Monteverdi's time?). Similarly, Brahms wouldn't have been Brahms
without the harmonic and contrapuntal norms that Bach solidified in
his time.

Don't even get me started on how Schoenberg came about ;).

Similar to science, it may not even be possible to "create something
from nothing" in that space. Many artists across all disciplines tried
during the 20th century with varying degrees of "success".

This thread appears to be veering further from topic by the hour
:P. Taking it back to software (ObRuby? ;), the discipline is just
beginning to build a repository of "theory and practice" that the
student and professional can take as starting-points for
exploration. Only time will tell if, when in 100 years we look at the
source for Knuth's TeX system, we will say "what genius this is", or
"wow, that's primitive stuff". In fact, that may answer the question
once and for all as to whether SE is indeed art or science.
 
Dan
--
airboss / nodewarrior.org
www.nodewarrior.org
ignorami: n: 
The art of folding problem users into representational shapes.