In many ways programming is an art, Like all human made things. Software can be likened to paintings, one might have an idea of what they want the end goal to be, but there are a practically infinite number of variations in how one can approach those goals.
In real life nothing is ever perfectly efficent, Nor is there truly perfect form. Only endless variations of close enough. An iterative process which crawls towards some imaginary ideal through trial and error. I wonder if evolution is blind, or if it works towards something.
The eastern understanding of the universe is that it is a poet, an artist.  Many in the STEM field hold the philosophy that the universe operates solely out of a sense of  pure logic and efficency. Life evolves the way it does because it adapts to the enviroment. Things happen because of physical laws, which just happen to be the way they are. Evolution is merely a logical function of unpredicable change over time. 
Another perspective is that existance is not a matter of cold, logical, and meaningless function, but playful and artistic, joyously spontanous. Things exist because its fun to exist. Art for arts sake. Existance is the ultimate form of the universe entertaining itself, playing a grand game. The core of reality isnt matter, its playful imagination, infinite possibility.