Let's make all the greens red.
Though I can type very quickly and with only very few mistakes, I can hardly hold a brush to a canvas without blantantly smearing the paint outside of the lines. So even though I'd love to buy ten copies of the same painting by the numbers set and randomize the choice of which color goes with which number, I'll have to let someone else actually execute that art concept. Actually, I'm quite sure that somebody already has. But simply changing the numbers wouldn't necessarily be an expression of freedom. It's hardly more than a thought exercise that wouldn't necessarily be aesthetically pleasing.
On the other hand, in science, there are apparently a number of examples of painting by the numbers. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the images of various objects that scientists photograph via electronic microscopes are chosen out of numerous possibilities, and primarily for their aesthetic value. This sort of thing also takes place in astronomy. Photographs from the Hubble Heritage Project are apparently constructed by scientists and artists working together. They choose the colors that they think best fit the images that have been received by the telescope. In an article on the images from the Heritage Projec Keith Noll, the project's creator remarks
The project has always been more about beauty than truth
I certainly wish that I could say something similar about the Boidem, though it's hardly much of either.
Go to: Not a chance!, or
Go to: But isn't that the whole point?, or
Go to: Where's the Beef?