I hope this is the correct location for this; it seems the only logical place that is not locked down.
I am considering bypassing the Coppermine "theme" approach altogether and writing my own front-end code to access the data stored in the cpg database. This will allow considerable freedom from the somewhat restrictive and clumsy theme framework.
I'm not asking for support; just curious what people think...I can't see that it violates any license or even ethic...though I can easily imagine certain Devs being upset by this idea.
Coppermine is licensed under GNU GPL, so you're free to come up with modifications. Why should we be upset? The theme engine's core in use is 5 years old, so yes: there might be better alternatives. Branding it as being "clumsy" is a matter of taste though.
Back to your initial suggestion: only using the data stored in coppermine's database and not using the "wrapping" code is not a new idea in itself: that's what cpmFetch and a load of other mods is doing. Please go ahead. We'd love to see what you can come up with.