Apartment raised around New York's Columbus statue

Starting Thursday and running through November 18, visitors can enter the "Discovering Columbus" apartment built around the statue, located in the downtown Columbus Circle, by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi.

The 74 square meter (800 square foot) furnished apartment, elevated from the ground by scaffolding, includes large sofas, a television set and a book collection.

The art project was financed with $1.5 million from the Public Art Fund, an organization that presents contemporary art in the city's public spaces.

"There's always a way to look at something you think you know from a different point of view," Nishi told AFP.

"Up until then, the statue was only a small figure. Now they can look at it in the eyes," he said.

Nishi is known for building temporary structures that place historic monuments in intimate, domestic environments.

New York city officials said they hope to invest $1 million in restoring the weathered Columbus statue, built in 1892 by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo.