On software as art

In CatB Eric S Raymond memorably described software – pre Linux – as something “carefully crafted by individual wizards or small bands of mages working in splendid isolation.”

The other frequent metaphor, besides D&D-flavored magic, is art. I used to believe that was going too far. I followed the lead of my friend Ric Gagliardi, who has described the creation of software as artisanship, akin to throwing pots – you apply a skill, and end up with something useful, which may also be beautiful.

I also used to believe in the old software adage ‘make it work, then make it fast, then make it pretty.’ I no longer believe that. Now I believe ‘make it pretty, keep it pretty, and if it uglies up stop and figure out where you went wrong.’

And along the same lines I have also come to believe lately that art may be the better metaphor. I came to this conclusion while studying arguably the most important painting of the 20th century: Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D’Avigon.

This is the seminal work of Cubism. It was completed in 1907. It is a large canvas – eight feet square – combining African themes with a revolutionary use of form.

Reactions to it in private viewings – by Henri Matisse among others – ranged from consternation to outright laughter. So Picasso stored it face-to-the-wall in his studio. It was not displayed to the public until a show at Salon d’Antin in Paris in 1916.

Before studying this painting, and its history, I had this vague idea that art sprang fully-formed from the artist like whats-her-name from Zeus’s forehead. Turns out nothing could be further from the truth – and remember, we are talking about one of the greatest paintings of all time by one of the greatest painters.

‘Les Demoiselles D’Avignon’ (it wasn’t actually named that until the writer Andre Salmon christened it for its first public display in 1916 – until then Picasso called it ‘The Philosophical Brothel’) was started in the winter of 1906/7 and finished in the summer of 1907.

Picasso did literally hundreds of sketches and studies for this work. Dozens of studies examined different approaches to form.

Others looked at the approach to the overall composition.

The composition is a classic theme. Much has been made of its compositional similarity to Cezanne’s ‘Les Grandes Baigneuses’:

Cezanne's 'Les Grandes Baigneuses'

But both paintings have their compositional roots in the works of Titian and Rubens.

Picasso’s composition evolved. The medical student at left in the compositional study, and in the figure study above, was removed. The sailor in the middle went away.

Picasso also studied technique. The painting is not only notable for its content, but for how it was painted. One technique is called impasto, where the painter draws a figure in dark outline then fills it in with horizontal strokes of a heavily loaded brush. Using another technique called ‘ground in reserve’ Picasso allowed the primer layer to show through in places, giving the painting remarkable depth and transparency.

When he began the painting, he was confident in both the overall composition and the technical approach. That did not change substantially. There were an number of smaller changes. Even very close to its completion the figure at upper right was substantially reworked.

I don’t think I need to connect the dots for you. The parallels between this kind of art, how art is really produced, and software are many and obvious, including the use of a code name for the work by the developer which is replaced by a marketing name when the product ships .

The metaphor has legs.