On October 21, 2011, Their Majesties King Harald V and Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway visited the famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Per the royal house of Norway:
Today the Opera House in Oslo and the Geopark in Stavanger were added to the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Her Majesty The Queen presented models and architectural drawings of the two facilities as a gift to the museum.
The Opera House designed by the architectural firm Snøhetta has become an icon and key tourist attraction in Oslo. The Geopark, created by the firm Helen & Hard, is a public park for children in Norway’s oil capital, Stavanger. The design of the park is based on the topography of the Troll natural gas and oil field in the North Sea. The park uses materials from the petroleum industry as decoration and as play equipment.
The models of the Opera House and the Geopark will be incorporated into MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design. Barry Bergdoll, the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA, explained that the curators in the department had been following developments in Norwegian architecture for some time, and described the internationally renowned architectural firm Snøhetta as the “tip of the iceberg” in a rich and exciting architectural and design community.
Queen Sonja referred to architecture as the leading field in Norwegian design today and welcomed the interest from MoMA:
‘MoMA has always been a frontrunner in recognizing new innovative developments in the arts. We are all excited by your interest in Norwegian architecture. Today these two models become part of your famous collection – which as you all know – houses models of some of the most important buildings of our time.’
Prior to their visit to Museum of Modern Art, Their Majesties visited the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, along with Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Their Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
And, finally on October 22, 2011, King Harald and Queen Sonja visited the Norwegian Seaman’s Church, founded in 1878, in New York. After the service the royal couple were given a guided tour of the gallery at the church, which displays the works of Norwegian and Norwegian-American artists.
To view photos please click here.
Source and photos courtesy of: Kongehuest
