Photography in advertising and its effects on societyMemory has been and will always be associated with images. As early as 1896, eminent psychologists asserted that memory was nothing more than a continuous exchange of images. (Bergson) Later models of memory describe it more as an image text; a combination of space and time, image and word. (Yates) Although the image is certainly not the only component of memory, it is undoubtedly an integral and essential part of the composition of memory. Photography was first used over 100 years ago in an effort to preserve life as it existed before the industrial revolution. Over time, photography has gradually corrupted memory in various ways, despite its original intention to preserve it. From there, photography evolved to become a pressing threat not only to memory, but also to consciousness. As battle scene paintings and portraits of the wealthy Renaissance aristocracy show, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was but the logical continuum of human nature's innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world undergoing dramatic and irreversible change. It is no coincidence that photography appeared in large industrial cities towards the end of the 19th century. The industrial revolution created the societal conditions necessary for the birth of photography. The first and most obvious condition is that of technological progress. The industry was progressing and developing so rapidly that history seemed to be moving away from the present at an unusual speed. Until that time, life had not changed much from decade to decade or even century to century. The popularity of photography during the Industrial Revolution was largely the result of people's desire to slow down the perceived acceleration of history (McQuire). It has been argued that the acceleration of historical time “leads to a possible industrialization of forgetting” and that “not only will we miss history…but we will also want to return to space and the past.” (Virilio)The desire to stop time and preserve the state of things is the main reason why the majority of late 19th century photography focused on documenting traditions, practices and fashions of life dying...... middle of paper. .....advertisement. Imagining the past: media history and photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181. Freund, Gisele. Photography and society. Boston: David R. Godine, 1980. How Much Information?. May 9, 2002. University of California. Kramer, Edith. “The third hand of art therapists: reflections on art, art therapy and society in general.” American Journal of Art Therapy February 1986: 71-86. Liss, Andrea. Intrusion through shadows: memory photography and the Holocaust. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1998. McQuire, Scott. Visions of modernity. London: Sage Publications 1998. Miller, Denise., et al. The multiple roles of photography. New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 1998. Schwartz, Donna. "Objective Representation: Photographs as Facts." Imagining the Past: Media History and Photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181. Sontag, Susan. On Photography. New York: Anchor Books Doubleday, 1973. Virilio, Paul. The Art of the Engine. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995. Yates, Frances., 1966.