Autumn weekends spent strolling through Central Park just got better. Starting Sept. 20, New Yorkers and tourists will have the opportunity to experience the city’s famous statue of Christopher Columbus from an entirely different viewpoint thanks to artist Tatzu Nishi and the Public Art Fund. Nishi, who has a decade-long history of placing domestic spaces in unusual juxtaposition with historic monuments, designed an innovative installation for New York’s Columbus Circle called Discovering Columbus.
A living room elevated by six stories of metal scaffolding is being constructed around the statue. The height was specifically calculated to give participants dramatically up close views of the statue, but it also lets visitors look out over Central Park from Columbus’ perspective. The room will resemble a loftlike apartment complete with the trappings of everyday life including a couch, coffee table, television, and lamps. The artist also created custom wallpaper made from American pop culture scenes and images.
The installation will remain open through Nov. 18 and tickets are free on a first-come-first-served basis via the Public Art Fund’s home page starting the first week in September. Nicholas Baum, the organization’s director and chief curator, states in the Discovering Columbus description that Nishi “felt it was time to give Columbus an apartment of his own, with Central Park views, and to throw an open house to which all of New York City is invited.”
