Living statues showcase Marquette’s history

If you are walking around downtown Marquette on Saturday, be on the lookout for a few unique characters.

Living statues will be placed at various spots downtown in celebration of the Father Marquette statue restoration and the tall ships coming into port.

Eight volunteers will be dressed up as figures relating to Marquette’s history, like a miner, immigrant, butcher, and school children.  They all have costumes that are spray painted, and each have four or five poses that they have to hold for as long as possible.

“You might spot one on Washington Street by Wells Fargo, you might spot one by the Jackson Cut where the Vierling and Getz’s is, you might have to go to where the tall ships are to see one, so they will be surprising people,” Arts and Culture Manager for the City of Marquette Tiina Harris said.

“We’ve been working on motion and movement class to learn how to move, or not move and learn how to breathe so it looks like we’re not breathing,” Jon Teichman said, who will be dressed up as a miner.

“It’s an opportunity to do something completely different that I’ve never been a part of before.  It’s a chance to give back to the community, and honor the history of Marquette, and to bring people downtown to see something they’ve probably never seen in Marquette before.”

“I was sort of out of the box, ready to do my poses,” Chip Truscon said, who will be dressed up as a police officer.  “I knew ahead of time what my character will be.  That gave me at least enough time to ponder what could be some interesting poses.  Thinking about the poses, and then doing them painted–it’s a different condition.”

The living statues will be posing in Marquette for only one day—Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.