Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Mass. Hospital for Epileptics. 1907. Graduation - Taking culture from throat. 1907

Editor: This photograph, taken in 1907 by Woodhead Studio, shows a medical procedure at the Massachusetts Hospital for Epileptics. The setting and the nurses' uniforms feel very staged. How do you interpret this work in terms of its historical context? Curator: The staging is key. It begs the question: who was the intended audience and what was its purpose? Looking at the means of production, this image serves as evidence of medical practice and perhaps even a tool for demonstrating the hospital's methods and standards of care. Editor: So, it was made to serve a specific function? Curator: Precisely! Think about the labor involved – the nurses, the patient, the photographer – all contributing to a representation intended for consumption. The photograph itself becomes a commodity, circulating within a specific social and medical economy. Editor: That's a very different way to look at it. I hadn’t considered the image itself as a product of labor. Curator: Indeed, shifting the focus to the material conditions of its creation opens up new avenues for understanding its meaning and impact.