As my daughter had Election Day off, we decided a good thing to do after voting was to go see Tatzu Nishi’s Discovering Columbus, at Columbus Circle. A walk up six flights of stairs brings the viewer into an imagined modern living room for Columbus Circle’s Christopher Columbus statue complete with a large, flat screen TV and Americana-inspired pink toile wallpaper designed by Nishi. It was quite something to be at the foot of a sculpture which is normally too far off to really experience, and to “sit” with it for a while. Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi studied monuments in New York City and chose Christopher Columbus for its height, with a wish to give the viewer a new dialogue with the statue. Known for his temporary art installations which fabricate living environments around artworks and public monuments all over the world, Nishi’s Discovering Columbus is a unique gift to New York City. Free passes to visit with Mr. Columbus can be found here for just another week and a half. It’s certainly worth a view that may never be available again.
Photography Beth Horta for Sweet Sabelle.