Art should make eye contact.

Design and painting start from the same place: a conviction that the things we make should mean something to the people who encounter them. One is in service of a problem. The other is in service of itself. But the eye that looks for what matters, the hand that knows when something is right, the instinct that resists the easy answer: those are the same.

Art should be present. It should grab you, tug on your curiosity, and capture your imagination. While at first you may notice a color, a playful gesture, a bold juxtaposition of forms, once you really begin to look, to really see what it is about, you should find yourself paused. Held. Perhaps even slightly flustered as you ask yourself: is this about me? Am I on display?

Who can resist a sly sideways glance when walking past a mirror? Especially in this age of selfies, can anyone resist the temptation of their own reflection?