That thing you're sitting on is a War Memorial

So I’m puzzled… extrapolating based on the angle the photographer is kneeling taking the photo from… um, how is an up-skirt shot of a woman sitting on a huge ball a good advertisement for UN Women?

Speaking more generally though, the state of Canberra’s “social interest groups” is basically poor. Some genuinely have passionate people working hard on issues they care about. Many though just have people who are social climbers who care about networking and raising their own profile. This would fall into the latter.

Ben_Dover said :

wooster said :

I think we should be doting on the disrespectfulness of creating a war memorial that looks like that 😐

+1

The ACT Memorial. I think its an impressive and quality piece of public art, which also has a specific purpose quite clearly identified on the plaques which adorn it and the inscriptions incorporated as part of it.

What should a ‘war memorial’ look like? A fabricated mix of guns & slouch hats?? Maybe, but this isn’t a war memorial, it’s a memorial to service of any kind during times of conflict. Its not solely about frontline troops or chopper pilots or Diggers or Vets, but anyone with an ACT association who served this country in times of conflict, in whatever capacity. That means it’s even dedicated to my Nanna who sewed parachutes when volunteering with Red Cross (so she told me).

I’d also hazard a guess that it’s not on Anzac Parade because its the ACT Government’s ACT Memorial, and Anzac Parade features Commonwealth monuments. However, with ACT Gov land being the location requirement perhaps Veteran’s Park would have been more appropriate.

Brandi said :

Great legs.

+1

54-11 said :

I think you may be over-reacting just a tad, nsn.

I don’t think nsn has over-reacted necessarily – nsn has simply reacted…as is her or his right.

I think we have to separate out the article from the photograph. The article is fine…inspiring, educative and informative.

The photograph, however, is, at one level, using a woman perched on a memorial to those who have suffered and died in war, to sell a dress, shoes and a necklace. Even the prices for these items is provided.

I’ll repeat that…dollar values are given for merchandise in an advertisement that is intended, in part, to sell more dresses, shoes and necklaces…and the backdrop…the prop…for the advertisement, is the ACT’s memorial to those of its citizens who have served, suffered and died in war.

This piece of advertising, then, in that context, deserves to be critiqued. That is not necessarily an over-reaction. It might just be a response by some in the Canberra community to something not quite right, or appropriate, especially in a high-profile “magazine” inside a well-respected newspaper.

I think you may be over-reacting just a tad, nsn.

You are often asked by photographers to do various poses that make you wonder. Sometimes it is a style thing that shows the quality of the photographer and their ability to interpret the shot’s role in portraying the story. A bit of a tip is when they actually ask you about the story.

But it is always up to you as “the talent” to manage the shot to make certain it will portray you correctly. It’s up to you to look around, behind, and generally understand how the shot will look. Sometimes photographers make it hard to say no about some idea, but it is your reputation, so “no” is always an option for you.

As said in #35, it is a good looking shot, but there are a number of aspects of it she should have been aware of.

Blimey she’s hardly got her legs spread or her cleavage out. Would it be better if she was dressed in a frumpy way, was ugly or overweight? Take away the unfortunate fact that it’s a memorial, this is a story of a young, attractive and successful career woman who is literally on top of the world. I know this is a public service town but come on people, lighten up! It’s no wonder Canberra has a reputation of being a boring public servant town. This story says “Hey, I’m living the dream and looking good doing it!”

Calamity said :

Calamity said :

A sombre reminder that one should never imitate clip art 😉

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-59588545/stock-photo-illustration-of-woman-sitting-on-top-of-the-world.html

Whoops.
*somber

I think you were right the first time, actually. Wiktionary lists somber as the US spelling.

pominoz79 said :

Ok so they probably should have researched the history of the “structure” before using it for a photo shoot but in fairness it doesn’t look like a memorial of any kind

The photographer was practically standing on one of the plaques that describes the memorial, and “ACT Memorial” + “www.memorial.act.gov.au” are engraved in giant text on either side of the site.

Although it is pretty difficult to justify ignorance as an excuse, I’m sure that an apology from those involved would go a long way towards making up for any wrongdoing. (The photographer and organiser have probably learned a bit about situational awareness!)

I’m curious about what rabble-rousing this stunt would have created had the scene incorporated the phallic owl rather than the memorial.

Calamity said :

Whoops.
*somber

No, sombre.

Calamity said :

A sombre reminder that one should never imitate clip art 😉

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-59588545/stock-photo-illustration-of-woman-sitting-on-top-of-the-world.html

Whoops.
*somber

A sombre reminder that one should never imitate clip art 😉

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-59588545/stock-photo-illustration-of-woman-sitting-on-top-of-the-world.html

poetix said :

If she were simply standing by the globe, perhaps even with one hand on it, rather than sitting on it with a huge grin, it would be a lot more appropriate.

I can’t imagine a male executive being posed this way. She should have seen it was a strange thing to do, even if she didn’t know that it was a war memorial.

My thoughts exactly!! Crass photo and not just due to the memorial. She is obviously a very intelligent and driven woman, but I don’t think this pose reflects that one bit.

If she were simply standing by the globe, perhaps even with one hand on it, rather than sitting on it with a huge grin, it would be a lot more appropriate.

I can’t imagine a male executive being posed this way. She should have seen it was a strange thing to do, even if she didn’t know that it was a war memorial.

Ok so they probably should have researched the history of the “structure” before using it for a photo shoot but in fairness it doesn’t look like a memorial of any kind and the symbolism of a woman working for the UN sitting on what effectively looks like a globe actually kinda works. It’s what you might call a major blooper but I’m sure just an honest mistake, one I doubt they’ll make again!

Julie you look amazing, it’s a real shame this has happened but I don’t think it was your or the Canberra Times’ intention to disrespect anyone so don’t worry about it. It’ll be old news by tomorrow. Some people just love to put others down…

Swaggie said :

An ‘executive officer’ posing like some tart from Charnwood seems to have a brain cell missing to start with.

I reckon you’d get on really well with this bloke I’ve heard of. That’s right: his name’s Mr Gillespie.

An ‘executive officer’ posing like some tart from Charnwood seems to have a brain cell missing to start with.

The woman’s name is Julie McKay. I’m sure once she knows it’s a war memorial she will arrange to have the photo removed from Facebook … Julie?

MissChief said :

Take aware the terrible war-posterior reference and it isn’t a bad photo but surely mounting the orb would have been undignified and unbecoming of her status.

It would have been great to watch though.

RSL is disappointed.

johnboy said :

And The Beast is talking about it now.

Think I missed it. What the the gist?

Yes, it’s a war memorial, with the steel mesh surrounding the globe representing hands, and the globe representing the light orb of peace and hope.

Okay, who knew THAT much before this post?
(in my case it’s because I go past it every single friggin’ work day that I decided to look it up)

And The Beast is talking about it now.

My money’s on an honest mistake. I bet dollar to a dime they wanted an artsy shot on a world like globe and really didn’t think much past that.

Take aware the terrible war-posterior reference and it isn’t a bad photo but surely mounting the orb would have been undignified and unbecoming of her status. Unless of course she was gently lowered into place by a crane… nah, still undignified.

To confirm, this memorial has not one but two plaques. The first is to the left of the lady in the trenchcoat, affixed to the low wall. The second is embedded in the pavement 1m behind the photographer. About 50cm in front of the photographer is engraved “ACT Memorial” in large letters.

A snippet taken from the plaques:
“This memorial is a tribute to the service of so many people, some of which whom have made the supreme sacrifice.”

Pretty sad to see it being used in the manner pictured above.

Gungahlin Al said :

I agree that there would be a plaque nearby and checking would have been smart, given the meaning behind many public installations in Canberra. The chance of a social faux pas would be high.

But no-one’s raised that the thing is made of glass? Sure it *should* be strong enough to handle vandals, but would you risk it?

Gungahlin Al, the ACT Memorial has been broken (vandalised?) at least once since it was installed, and it was fenced off for a time (last year I think) while it was repaired. So sitting on top of it might not have been the smartest thing to do just from that perspective alone.

One could even imagine that having a photo of a UN official sitting on top of it, in a Canberra Times sanctioned publication, might even encourage others to do the same.

Perhaps the young lady in question should have been wearing a blue helmet…just for a bit more effect.

But war is so hot right now.

Why not write them a little note:

UN Women Australia
GPO Box 2824
Canberra, ACT 2600
P: +61 (2) 6225 5810
E: admin@unwomen.org.au

For a UN organisation (not to mention The Canberra Times), this was a pretty undiplomatic thing to do.

One wonders what the RSL or Legacy or the Australian War Memorial would make of this…?

I agree that there would be a plaque nearby and checking would have been smart, given the meaning behind many public installations in Canberra. The chance of a social faux pas would be high.

But no-one’s raised that the thing is made of glass? Sure it *should* be strong enough to handle vandals, but would you risk it?

wooster said :

I think we should be doting on the disrespectfulness of creating a war memorial that looks like that 😐

+1

I had no idea that it was a memorial either. I’m not offended by someone sitting on it though.

The blurb on the website pointed to in the original post says:

“It is a place for contemplation, reflection, awareness, commemoration, gatherings and ceremony. Information about Memorial events can be obtained from the Legislative Assembly Ceremonial Officer on telephone…”

By the looks of the picture, this is obviously one of those activities.

Could it be that they thought it was appropriate for the ED of a UN organisation to take the photo there with the idea that the UN is about peace and it’s a war shrine? Seems like a strange place to take a photo when there’s always the lake/anything else in the city – there must be a reason behind it even if it’s a stupid one.
And why does what she’s wearing make difference? Would the photo be ok if she were in a puke-yellow jumpsuit with a frown and saluting? I think not.

UN Women Australia sounds like a support group for F-M transsexuals.

She’s just showing that she’s got ball.

Why didn’t the OP name her as Julie McKay? Is there some reason people dance around names like that?

In any event, she hasn’t harmed the memorial and I doubt anyone, even the OP, really believes that she meant to show disrespect to anyone. So why does this matter? Genuine respect is internal; it’s about how we treat people and remember them. It has nothing to do with building glass and steel monuments, or worshipping such monuments.

And is it somehow made worse, as the OP suggests, by the fact that Julie’s wearing “a little black dress”?

(I also agree with Brandi’s comment.)

On my lunch break today I’m going to take a walk to that thing and sniff it Troy Buswell style.

I didn’t originally know what that was either, however if you are going to take a photo like that and if you are going to feature it in a publication then it’s probably wise to take a look around and see if there’s any signage.
Btw I’m not impressed with the recent fashion ads on tv featuring the distinctive exterior walls of the War Memorial. Surely there were plenty of other architecturally interesting backdrops to choose from?

Oh and ps, DAMN!!

That’s a war memorial? I think the fact people are sitting on it for photos demonstrates it clearly hasn’t met its objective. I doubt there’s many people that would knowingly sit on a war memorial. I better not sit on those sheep then, it could also be some bizzare abstract reference to the war…

Does that globe glow with colored lights at night? And react to the sound of the car horn like the cube that used to a few years ago?

I don’t think my veteran relations would mind her sitting on it…

Is it possible that not one person who was part of that photo shoot knew what the memorial was for – or even that it was a memorial? Given that information (in the form of signage etc) about the memorial is located at the memorial, I think that is unlikely.

That means, then surely, that both the Canberra Times (whose own fountain is only a few metres away, but admittedly more difficult to sit on!) and the UN Office for Women (Australia) both thought it appropriate to treat a memorial to the ACT’s war dead in this way.

A beautiful photo, but a shocking lack of judgement I would suggest. It does not reflect well on any of the people involved.

Great legs.

wonderful, what a fantastic way to treat our servicemen, some of whom have died fighting for our country. Not really surprising from a subsidiary of the Canberra Times

I suppose at least it’s not being damaged by skaters?

sarahsarah said :

Well, to be completely honest, I’ve walked past that thing dozens of times and I didn’t know that’s what it was – I thought it was just another art installation. It doesn’t exactly shout “war memorial” and I’m surpised by the location for it. I would have thought (perhaps naively) something like that would have been on ANZAC Parade.

I’m not saying it’s not cringe-worthy but I think it was an honest mistake rather than deliberate disrepect.

+1. I, personally, blame Stanhope for it.

I think we should be doting on the disrespectfulness of creating a war memorial that looks like that 😐

Well, to be completely honest, I’ve walked past that thing dozens of times and I didn’t know that’s what it was – I thought it was just another art installation. It doesn’t exactly shout “war memorial” and I’m surpised by the location for it. I would have thought (perhaps naively) something like that would have been on ANZAC Parade.

I’m not saying it’s not cringe-worthy but I think it was an honest mistake rather than deliberate disrepect.

Classy.

So there is at least four people there who should have twigged that it may not be the best of props.