Alfred Hitchcock is often held up as the prime example of the one-man filmmaker, conceiving and controlling all aspects of his films development--the archetype of genius over collaboration. An exhibition at the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University, however, put the lie to Hitchcock-as-auteur, presenting more than seventy-five sketches, designs, watercolors, paintings, and storyboards that, together, examine Hitchcock s very collaborative filmmaking process. The four essays in this collection were written to accompany the exhibition and delve further into Hitchcock s contributions to...

Charles Darwin s monumental"The Origin of Species, "published in 1859, forever changed the landscape of natural science. The scientific world of the time had already established the principle of the intelligent design of a Creator; the art world had spent centuries devoting itself to the celebration of such a Designer s creation. But the language of the book, and its implications, were stunning, and the ripples Darwin made when he rocked the boat spread outward: if he could question the Designer, what effect might there be on the art world, and on mortal designers renderings of Creation?...