Task 5a

Summarise the key points and focus on the relationship of Time and Visual research.

In Psychology and Photographic Theory, the author is largely concerned with the use of phototherapy in the treatment and consideration of mental health patients, whilst acknowledging that the benefits of it are not limited to those with mental health issues.

There is significant emphasis throughout the text on definition and understanding of reality, further developed by references to Roland Barthes’ theory of punctum and studium. During this consideration of ‘reality’, the question is raised as to whether photographs show “a past reality” (Cronin 1998: 64) or simply a version of ‘reality’. For example, the “family unity and cohesiveness” (Cronin 1998: 61) that is believed to be evident in family photographs may have been constructed for the brief time that it took for the photograph to be taken. The text looks closely at family photographs and is also concerned with what effect looking at family photographs has on people.

The question of ‘time’ is another one that is raised during the text. As photographs contain a “slice of time” (Cronin 1998: 64), it is not surprising that photographs are seen as a way of connecting people with a moment in time that has passed. It is noted during the text that the “passage of time, and the reifying of time into discrete units, is inherent in some uses of photographs in therapy” (Cronin 1998: 64). This demonstrates the ability of a photograph to make time into something that is more tangible, and something that can be dealt with by an individual.

The paper also makes reference to the fact that people begin to take more photographs in an attempt to control the passage of time and references claims that “people take up photography at times of rapid change in their lives” (Cronin 1998: 64) and the even more explicit claim that “photographs are a protection against time” (Cronin 1998: 64). The paper goes on to mention how photography can be used to help people “overcome the sorrow of passing time” (Cronin 1998: 64). Whilst this may be an accurate depiction of how photography can help people, it should also be mentioned that, as photographs capture a moment in history, they may not always have a positive effect on someone who is distressed by the passing of time, especially if the punctum contained in the photograph evokes a less positive emotion, such as highlighting the loss of a loved one or of a happier period in one’s life.

The idea of photography to document “rites of passage” (Cronin 1998: 65) is also raised within the paper, showing the weighting that is given to rites of passage throughout life, and also marking them out as specific examples of moments that people wish to relive through the emotion captured within the punctum of the photograph.

The text puts considerable emphasis on the relationship between time and visual research, particularly in terms of how it can be used to provide psychotherapy for mental health patients. Time is put across as a destroyer, and photography described as “providing a magical substitute” (Cronin 1998: 64) for what it has left in its wake. However, it is important whilst reading the text to retain a balanced opinion of the power of phototherapy in order to avoid the conclusion that phototherapy is the cure for any mental health issues concerned by the passage of time.

Cronin Ó. (1998) ‘Psychotherapy and Photographic Theory’. In Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers ed. by Prosser, J. London: Falmer Press 61 – 73