I have never seen GUI design as a fundamentally artistic activity. While it is true that a well designed user interface can be enhanced with artistic elements, but designing the underlying user interface is really an engineering effort. Certainly in larger projects a GUI specialist is a natural specialization, just like having build specialist, etc. But I think that it is the rare software engineer that cannot create an effective GUI - when they are given the time and resources to do so.
Most of us have learned most of what we know about building systems by recognizing goodness in existing system and then rolling up are sleeves and innovating, and by sticking to it until it works. The GUI is no exception.
