Aesthetic selection and artificial evolution have been two of the more successful companions introduced to the toolbox of electronic image-makers in recent years. This paper examines the niche in which this technique, often associated with the simulation of biological processes, has positioned itself and some of the reasons for its success. Some remarks concerning the meaningfulness of a user's search for images through a genetic space are made and the relationship of this search to traditional artistic practice is examined. Suggestions on how to link other artificial-life techniques, especially those involving self-organizing and self-assembling systems, with aesthetic evolution and electronic art are also made.