Or, like some art, of variable degrees of folks caring about it based on other interesting properties - and made for some purpose other than maintainability.

Demoscene, obfuscated coding contests, etc. seem to fall under that category.

Uselessness in the eye of the beholder or something like that.

But in those cases you are creating for other people. The point was made about software that didn't have any use for any people.

In those cases, only the creation itself has a use, not the end result. By definition.