# What art forms do you associate wth the four NF types?



## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

If I were to divide art forms between NF types, it might be something like this:

ENFJ - Acting
INFJ - Fiction
ENFP - Music
INFP - Photography


What are your takes? How do you reason? Feel free to add what art forms you Personally prefer.


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## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

Also, it might be interesting to hear how you the NF types might vary in their approach to any artistic medium.


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## Mynameisnick (May 17, 2011)

I enjoy photography. I like displaying fleeting beautiful moments... that and I can't write.... 

I love shooting events, motorcross, hockey, weddings, family events, music but my favorite shots are usually the behind the scenes shots. The ones that tell a story. 

A rider after a race. He's a privateer, no big team supporting him, just doing it for the love of it.










these are the images I like creating.


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## Starr (Aug 21, 2011)

I'm an ENFP and I'm a musician  I also write a lot, mostly for myself


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## Rather Unusual (Jan 1, 2011)

Nah, photography is merely a moment that has been observed and captured and whilst I admire that and acknowledge the fact that there is still a great deal of creativity involved, I'd prefer to think INFPs would be associated with the randomness of our imaginations. With Ne it is all about the possibilities and creating something new. With photography you're just working with what is already present...generally speaking.


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## PeaTea (May 31, 2011)

I enjoy painting and music. My oil paintings are pretty good, but I don't know any music theory. When playing a given instrument I usually just mess around until something sounds right. I want to be able to play classical music on the piano, so learning theory will be a must over the next few years.


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## Patn (Jul 25, 2011)

Rather Unusual said:


> Nah, photography is merely a moment that has been observed and captured and whilst I admire that and acknowledge the fact that there is still a great deal of creativity involved, I'd prefer to think INFPs would be associated with the randomness of our imaginations. With Ne it is all about the possibilities and creating something new. With photography you're just working with what is already present...generally speaking.


I very much agree with this. I don't find photography a _particularly_ INFP-ish art form. As you said, photography mainly has to do with what is already there in the "material world", the photographer "merely" has to observe the subject and capture it in a way that befits what he is trying to say. Or just a pretty-looking way. To me photography seems like kind of an S-y art form, though that does not mean NF's can't do it and enjoy it.

As for what I view as INFP-y art forms, well... Poetry is often associated with the INFP, and rightfully so, I believe. It utilises both the imagination aspect and the being-good-at-writing-thing also associated with them. But I think drawing/painting could also be quite and INFP-y art form.

But in the end, all this matters little as you can of course practice, be good at and enjoy basically any art form regardless of type.


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## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

Rather Unusual said:


> Nah, photography is merely a moment that has been observed and captured and whilst I admire that and acknowledge the fact that there is still a great deal of creativity involved, I'd prefer to think INFPs would be associated with the randomness of our imaginations. With Ne it is all about the possibilities and creating something new. With photography you're just working with what is already present...generally speaking.


Yes and no. I would like to argue that a photography could be used to show your idea of reality, displaying your imagination through choice of subject matter, etc. 

Besides, any "finished" art product is just that: finished. The randomness of a song doesn't go on after the song is finalized and recorded.


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## Rather Unusual (Jan 1, 2011)

cactus_waltz said:


> Yes and no. I would like to argue that a photography could be used to show your idea of reality, displaying your imagination through choice of subject matter, etc.
> 
> Besides, any "finished" art product is just that: finished. The randomness of a song doesn't go on after the song is finalized and recorded.


That is the thing though...with photography you're limited by subject matter. I suppose the same is true for other art forms to a certain extent...but in my case, I favor visual art as I able to create something entirely from scratch using imagination. I think photography still holds the potential to be very powerful...but it wouldn't be my chosen art form.


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## chimeric (Oct 15, 2011)

I could see music being ENFPish if we're going by stereotypes, but I'm a craptacular musician (my hands are too spastic and I get impatient with theory) and a pretty decent painter/drawer.

Drawing from life helps me hone in, focus, and really notice the details of my surroundings; something ENFPs should perhaps do more of. Drawing from my imagination gives an outlet to all the weird gobblegook imagery that bounces around in my brain (how's that for a pompous artist's statement?).


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## Perpetual Iridescence (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm an INFJ actress and artist(pencil and charcoal drawings). I'm a great communicator but novel and short story writing is too time-consuming and complicated for me.


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## The Sundancer (Mar 26, 2011)

From what I have observed about the ENFPs I know irl, and some here on the boards, it seems that a lot of them take up some form of writing, music, or photography, with writing popping up the most.


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## OrangeAppled (Jun 26, 2009)

ENFJ - acting, film, writing screenplays & novels
INFJ - film, photography, writing poetry & novels
INFP - writing poetry & novels, music, drawing/painting
ENFP - writing poetry & novels, music, acting

I think any of the NFs might do any of the arts though... They are all heavily associated with writing, and the INFx with fine arts and ENFx with performing arts.


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## Singing Silence (Dec 13, 2011)

OrangeAppled said:


> ENFJ - acting, film, writing screenplays & novels
> INFJ - film, photography, writing poetry & novels
> INFP - writing poetry & novels, music, drawing/painting
> ENFP - writing poetry & novels, music, acting
> ...


I agree. I really like the ENFJ/screenplay writing and acting choice. That seems to fit all of the ENFJs I know. The ENFPs are less likely to engage in solitary endeavors (although it's been known to happen). INFPs like poetry/fiction, of course (being one myself, I also admit I adore acting...if I'm going to empathize with fictional characters anyway, I might as well do something productive about it). But I think it's true that NFs in general are probably easily associated with any of the arts. I love them all (except photography...I'm _way_ too mechanically inept).


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## shadowschwa (Dec 30, 2011)

Music music music music 

I'm relatively bad at pretty much any other kind of art. I'm okay-ish at certain kinds of dancing, and I think I might be able to write poetry but I haven't really tried much.

But MUSIC. Music I get. I'm terrible at composing it, unfortunately, but I'm good at transcribing and arranging, and I'm a pretty good performer.  (I have great difficulty in assessing how good I am at performing because I never like my performances, but I audition into groups that, as a whole, are quite talented, so I suppose I must be pretty decent. XP)

Anyway, I don't yet know enough about other types to be able to weigh in much on which types might be better at or more drawn to which forms of art, but I rather agree with @OrangeAppled in that any NFs might do any type of art, but with some slight tendencies toward preferring specific forms. 

Also, relating to what @Singing Silence said about ENFPs being "less likely to engage in solitary endeavors", I definitely identify with that - I love singing in groups, and hate soloing. XD Same with instrumental stuff, for the most part.


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## Bumblyjack (Nov 18, 2011)

An ENFP's art form is conversation.


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## Traum (Jan 3, 2012)

I, as an INFP, like to write theoretical type stuff, like persuasions. I also like to document real life.

I do enjoy photography as well. And computer graphic stuff..

The main thing is, that I can't stay focused on any one thing for too long.

Also, my INFJ friend likes more fiction writing and also computer based art. He's got a great creative mind.


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## Moose (Jul 20, 2011)

we can all do it all, I think. we're quite creative 

ENFJ - music
INFJ - writing
ENFP - acting
INFP - photography/painting


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## OffTheBooks (Jan 5, 2012)

I'm an INFJ songwriter, and musician. I write mostly folk songs these days, and when writing punk songs, I get told they read like folk songs, quite a bit.
I also did some writing in and out of college, but it was mostly philosophical, or non fiction political/social theory.


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## taptap (Jun 17, 2010)

cactus_waltz said:


> If I were to divide art forms between NF types, it might be something like this:
> 
> ENFJ - Acting
> INFJ - Fiction
> ...


 That's weird. I feel like you need a hefty lot of Fi to really 'get' a character. That's probably why most actors are FPs. And since as an actor, you would be spending most of your days, from sunrise till dawn, with other people, extraversion makes more sense, as an introvert would get drained. Keanu Reeves, Meg Ryan, Robin Williams, etc.
So, 
*ENFP - Acting*

We get to fiction and we have the same problem. Fi helps with giving emotional depth to characters and situations. Fi lets you the see beauty in everything. Ne helps with creating interesting and funny characters and situations. INFPs are, like ENFPs, very creative. Writing is the natural career of INFPs. They're excellent verbal communicators. Most famous writers are INFPs. Tolkien, JK Rowling, A. A. Milne and Laura Ingalls Wilde to namy a few. This list of famous INFPs is mostly made up by writers. As a side note, I, as an ENFP, _love_ writing. In my native language. But I also love interacting with people so sitting in my room and writing for 8 hours straight isn't exactly my idea of fun. So while NFPs in general are good at writing, INFPs are better suited for the level of social isolation it takes to finish a large work. 
*INFP - Fiction*

INFJs? My cousin is/was a painter. She's now a apprentice hair dresser. Anyway, she made very few works of her own. I never saw any of it, well a pic on her phone, but what I did see was tons and tons of copies of other people's work. She admitted it herself that she's not very creative. Se helps with copying other people's work, of course. Gives her great attention to details like colors, lighting, contours, etc. I'm into drawing/painting myself but I hate copying. It's tedious and unrewarding. I'll be walking around and suddenly a entire new picture pops up in my head that relates to something that has happened/a feeling/a concept, etc. However, this attention to colors, lighting, etc gives the INFJ a great natural advantage in photography.
*INFJ - Photography*

Lastly, we come to music. Now, a lot of musicians have been mistyped. People equate shyness and "weird-ness" with introversion. Plus, this is the internet, home of the introverts and so there's a lot of relating bias going on. With that said, a lot of popular, mainstream musicians are ENFJs. They have plenty of Se to help them shape their style, physical presentation, dance, etc. Fe gives them the ability to play that stage role very effectively. Ni makes sense for musical creativity. Every song is a system. And Ni is there to perfect it. Lady Gaga, Marilyn Manson and Bono are good examples of ENFJ singers. On the internet, many people, especially INFJs, type Manson as their own type. Manson is the ultimate attention whore. INFJs are very private people. He also has that extraverted wherewithal to react to every weird situation that comes along on the shows. Like the time a guy jumped up on stage and he stimulated a sexual act with him. He's also very quick to respond in interviews and can think on his feet. I think, as the frontman of one of the most famous bands of the 90s, Manson as an introvert would get very drained, very quickly. But extraverted Manson loved every last bit of it. And a lot of the above applies to Gaga, as well.
*ENFJ - Music*


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## CandaceAppel (Jan 6, 2012)

INFJs are the type most likely to become published authors.


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## taptap (Jun 17, 2010)

CandaceAppel said:


> INFJs are the type most likely to become published authors.


 Then why are most published authors INFPs?


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## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

Do you guys have any cite on this?


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## CandaceAppel (Jan 6, 2012)

Here's a source for the claim that INFJs are the type most likely to become published authors:
students.usask.ca/current/life/employment/PDFs/INFJ.pdf

In response to taptap's question: 
1. Most published authors aren't INFPs.
2. INFJs are the rarest type (about 1.1%), so even though they're more likely to become published authors than any other type, they still account for a small percentage of the total. There are 3-4 times as many INFPs as INFJs.


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## KateMarie999 (Dec 20, 2011)

Acting is my thing, writing comes second. I'd rather make or be in a movie than write a book. I'm definitely an introvert, I prefer to pretend the audience isn't there, thus making more of a journey inside of myself as an actress and as my character. It's not about performing for people, it's about self discovery and it just plain makes me very, very happy. My INFP best friend is also an actress but writing comes first for her so maybe I'm just rare within the INFP group.


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## bronze crow (Jan 15, 2012)

Well im an INFJ sculptor.
Ive always been atracted to amking thigs though doing it well hasnt come easy
Ill admit ive always been atracted to wrighting, though i recived so much abuse over it at school 
it was very diffcuilt to imagine i could do it (mind you they told me i couldnt o art iether and that cleary didnt stop me!)

and now i find myself working on picture books for adults , right about the time i discover (at 40) im infj and one of our biggest strenghts is wrighting and art.
So rember kids teachers dont no the butts from ther elbows.ignore them if they tell yous somthing you dont belive (if your an INFJ reesults may vary for other types)


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## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

@bronze crow : I assume you are dyslexic. I haven't heard of adult picture books before, I imagine they are aimed towards dyslexic people or adults who only became litterate in adult age? How is the market for this?


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## bronze crow (Jan 15, 2012)

Hi Cactus oh i just meant ilustrated storys (though the weight on images more than words)

So yeah ther are already ilustrated books just for adults (i rember finding one in the childrens section of a libray the librain was very shocked when i drew it to her attention)

but alos ther are lots of cross over books like Maurice Sendak


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## GoodOldDreamer (Sep 8, 2011)

I make gaming videos for YouTube as a hobby. That's as close to "art" as I'll ever get. In a more perfect world, I'd probably be a writer, but whatever. I'm content with my current hobby. )


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## Compassionate Misanthrope (Mar 2, 2011)

ENFP - writing, acting
ENFJ - music, performance art
INFP - writing, painting, crafts
INFJ - I don't know any that I'm aware of


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