Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Second year feeding patient. c. 1907

Editor: This photograph, taken by Woodhead Studio, is titled "Defectives, Epileptics: United States. Massachusetts. Palmer. State Hospital for Epileptics: Second year feeding patient." It feels so stark and institutional. How do we understand its purpose? Curator: It serves as a potent, albeit troubling, visual record of early 20th-century institutional care. Images like this one from Palmer State Hospital reveal the socio-political attitudes towards disability at the time. Consider how the setting itself, and the patient's vulnerability, are presented. Editor: It’s almost like a clinical study, but presented for public consumption. Was it meant to garner support or perhaps otherize this population? Curator: Exactly. What role do you think this image played in shaping public perceptions of mental health and disability? Editor: It definitely makes you think about the power dynamics at play in institutions and how they visually represent vulnerable populations. Curator: Precisely. These images had real-world impacts on policy and funding.