Funnily enough I read an article today on brand advertising (http://www.businesszone.co.uk/topic/mark.../38943?ref=ukbf - for anyone who's interested) which infers Steve Jobs's expertise to be in the marketing function.

Simply put, he didn't invent new products, just improved on existing ideas to suit customer need then invested heavily in marketing to make his products premium products, thus increasing the premium on the prices.

To be honest I think the above downplays his input into revolutionising how we use phones, listen to music, surf the net etc. but it's true that it's the marketing that has created Job's legacy. The Apple brand has such a great image and is recognisable anywhere. There are some products that really rival the iPhone but the majority of people will want to own the iPhone because of that strong brand identity.

Getting back to Artists of our Generation, I don't think I could consider Jobs as an artist considering the above. He was a business man, but a bloody good one to be fair. And to be compared to Da Vinci as an artist - no chance. Their similarities are in invention (although how involved Jobs was in inventing I'm unsure). Da Vinci's known as an artist and an inventor (amongst other things) and I consider the two to be quite seperate. Jobs can only ever be classed as the latter.

I'll have to come back to who could be considered as artists of our generation, though music is a good starting point.