Living room surrounds Columbus statue

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NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A Japanese artist is marking Columbus Day in New York by giving visitors an up-close view of a usually far-off Christopher Columbus statue.

Tatzu Nishi, whose project was backed by the Public Art Fund, surrounded the 13-foot marble statue of Columbus, which is 70 feet up on a granite podium in a Manhattan traffic circle, in a replica of an 800-square foot modern living room supported by scaffolding, CNN reported Monday.

The "Discovering Columbus" installation encourages visitors to get close to the statue and lounge on the living room furniture for a new perspective on the 120-year-old likeness.

"The project is really about transforming an object that already exists, a monument that's been here in New York City for 120 years," said Nicholas Baume, director and curator of the Public Art Fund, "and giving people a chance to experience it in a completely new way to have in this case, a much more intimate experience."