One must first learn all the rules so that one may break them properly.

Sometimes knowing the rules traps you as well, and it would have been better to just seek the pureness of the muse.

In my experience this is critical to advancing the state of the art. Knowing the rules tends to lock one into a 'faster horse' mindset. If you want to invent a car, you're best off being ignorant of horse rules and conventions.

While that may be true for most people, I think that knowing everything about horse rules & conventions would give a car designer an upper hand _if_ that car designer was also the type of person to easily let go of his own presuppositions about things. What I'm trying to say is that there are people who are not held back by knowing what the rules of the game are, because they are not afraid to throw them away, even if learning those rules took a great mental investment.

What conventions did Michaelangelo's David violate?

Probably proportion. David's right hand holding the stone is massive in comparison to his body. It draws attention to the impending conflict.

Wasn't that done intentionally for perspective's sake, to make him look normally proportioned from certain, expected angles?

Using the grandparent's understanding of "generic", art could be generic, yet still exceptionally good/well executed.

I was reading a comment on a jazz album and it essentially said "expertly done but doesn't move the genre forward so meh."

I think people forget that sometimes you just want a good, standard jazz album.

To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.

- Henry J. Heinz