HANCOCK, Mich. (WZMQ) – In the crossroads of the Copper Country sits the Quincy Mine, the last remaining copper smelting and mining site from the early 1900s in the United States.
The Quincy Mine is now preserved as part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, home to frequent tours of its long and heavy history. Along the years of these tours, some aspects were difficult to understand when it came to what was exactly done throughout the site.
On Wednesday, the park held the unveiling of numerous life-size sculptures, detailing the hard work that took place here decades ago.
“We have two jobs here at the park. One of them is preserving these resources, and the other is interpreting them, which involves providing an opportunity for people to make a connection,” said Wyndeth Davis, superintendent of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. “Being able to return people at a human scale to the ruins, to the structures, to the processes, helps visitors make a connection with what’s here.”
As tourists and locals make their ways through these tours, they’ll find that this artwork can help illustrate more human nature in the sites historic remains.
“People immediately relate,” said Sculptor, Kasey Koski. “It’s not a miniature, it’s not overly large. These are life-size people, and so it’s a very direct way to get people to respond and understand, when you’re looking at a person doing what they used to do here.”
Koski was born and raised in Baraga County, studied at Finlandia University, and has now taken her artwork to Washington State. This is the second year she has made the trip back to the U.P. to work on these two-dimensional steel installations.
“I was just really thrilled to be chosen for the work,” said Koski. “To be invited to return for a second year, to continue this project is just a really wonderful opportunity, and I think that it’s the beginning of possibly an ongoing partnership.”
The new installations can be seen through the Quincy Smelter and Mine tours, offered three times daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
