Quote Originally Posted by Adam Strange View Post
I have some art in my house that was made by an ESI-Se artist. One of the pieces, made when the artist was eighteen and in my opinion one of my best commissions, is on the wall right next to the door, so you can see it when you leave.

When I was dating an LSI, she stopped and examined it.
“That’s not very good”, she said.

The LSI is gone.

I’m now dating an ESI occasionally. She saw it, paused, touched it, and said “This is beautiful. I really like it.”
”I like it, too”, I said.
She stepped back. “I like the way the light reflects off the tiles, and the depth, and the colors....”
”Yes. Notice the dichotomy between the two sides of the picture, how they are represented as opposites, but joined into one single entity. Like Duality. She met me, we talked, and then she created this. When she was eighteen. I have more of her art in my room. Maybe I’ll show it to you sometime.”

Finding your own tribe is half the battle.
Glad you are occasionally dating an ESI. : )

This art mention here is so interesting because it coincides exactly with what I was thinking about this morning.

I spend time compiling N.C. Wyeth's illustrations and paintings for the Favorite Art thread (Here, starting with post #145) It took time but it was a labor of love because I LOVE N.C. Wyeth's work! It's ideal, perfect to me. I wondered why not a single person hit "like". Did everyone not-like? Now, reflecting on what you say here, it seems actually possible that a lot of people just are indifferent, for Socionics reasons.

So I am reading a big think bio book on N.C. Wyeth now. I immediately realized Howard Pyle, his first teacher/mentor, was EIE, and that is based on what you said of EIE and cult-starting: “Dissolve your own ego, give yourself up to my greater cause and follow me. Become me.” - that could have been Pyle's motto. (Pyle was criticized for making his students into copies of himself, which also Wyeth later rebelled against). And Wyeth's wife was clearly SEI. But why hadn't I figured out Wyeth? Then I realized, I could not rule out IEE. But no, I must be flattering myself that such an amazing artist, that I so idealize, would be IEE.

But now I do think IEE. For so many reasons. Yes, if I had been born a genius, I would probably paint like Wyeth. In fact, as I wrote this, I realized I did an illustration for a book (not published - but the author told me the publisher liked my illustrations) and it only now occurs to me it truly looks like an N.C. Wyeth-type illustration. I have never been able to post pics here from my computer files (only from internet) but if I can figure it out I will later) but the boy is in an action position, and with the landscape behind, and the big sky, with super fluffy clouds, and it's very its mindful of Wyeth's work, which I never thought of when I drew it - perhaps an unconscious association with a picture seen long-ago, before I studied his work? Or, maybe IEE minds think alike.

Mark Twain, also an IEE. I absolutely LOVED his Joan of Arc, which he absolutely loved, too, considering it to be the pinnacle of his literary works.

So the point is, it makes sense that art is not appreciated only for it's level of accomplishment and professionalism, but also for whether the artist's Socionics values speak to yours. Which you illustrate in the above example perfectly. The art by an 18 year old may not have been done at the pinnacle of her professionalism, but likely it was a very clear ESI expression, which did not resonate with the LSI, but did with the ESI. We are drawn to our tribe's values and expressions. : ) (Also literary works. Twain's Joan of Arc is one of the best reads of my life.)