The Art of Adventure of the Seas
Adventure of the Seas has a museum-quality art collection. Most of the works are contemporary and a large number were done by Norwegian artists. The works are spread though the public areas often accompanied by good signage, identifying the artists and providing some information about the works.
The centerpiece of the collection, located in the Royal Promenade, is American artist Lawrence P. Kirkland's “The Dive.” Made of metal, cable, paint and gold, this work extends upward from the deck below and touches the ceiling of the Promenade. Its swirling, tornado-like form was inspired by the forms schools of fish sometimes take. Thus, it iwas designed to evoke something a diver looking upwards toward the ocean surface might see. In the forward atrium, there is another monumental sculpture extending through multiple decks. Lincoln Seligman's “Kinetica” consists of five pieces of curving aluminum shapes. Together, the forms create a loose spiral, suggesting movement even though the pieces are stationary. Due to the shape of the atrium, it is difficult to see the work as a whole, with the best view being from the Royal Promenade. At the other end of the Promenade, occupying the aft atrium is yet another multi-deck high sculpture. This is Per Olav A. Austdahl's “Planetarium.” Using various metals and fiber optic lights, the artist has created models of the planets of the Solar System and suspended them in a vertical arrangement. Once again, only portions of the work be seen from the decks surrounding the atrium. However, the individual planets are successful forms on a stand-alone basis. Adventure has four stair towers that hold stairs which passengers can use to travel between the passenger decks. There are two aft stair towers (port and starboard) and two forward stair towers (port and starboard). On the landings between the decks in each stair tower is one or more works of art. Most of the works in the stair towers are large horizontal pieces. Several works sit at the intersection between fine art and applied art. For example, “Woven Structure II”, a work by Norwegian artists Astrid Lovaas and Kristen Wagle, uses weaving technique to blend metal and textiles into a geometric design reminiscent of op art. Along the same lines, Eva Stephenson-Moller's “Circles” is painted circles on hand-woven cloth.and her “April” is a series of squares woven with different color threads There is also a series of tapestries by Colombian artist Olga de Amaral. The stair towers also contain works in other mediums. A series of colored glass panels by Magne Furuholmen are intended to suggest a jouney from the ocean floor to the sun and stars. Another series presents ceramic works by Fritz Roed. And there are paintings such as Jan Petter Eide's “Colored Fields” explores color and form. All of these works lean toward abstraction rather than traditional figurative art. Adventure also has art in the corridors outside the passenger cabins both hanging on the walls and in display cabinets next to the stair towers. Here, you find a mix of styles and types of art ranging from traditional Japanese prints to old movie posters. They are much more interesting than the banal travel photos that some other lines use to decorate the corridors on their ships. Lastly, Adventure has whimsical art stationed at various points in the ship. For example, there are life-like sculptures by Ben Twiston Davies of people working suspended from the walls of the Royal Promenade. Outside the sports court are bigger than life sculptures by an unidentified artist of athletes in action. These are clearly for fun, to brighten the atmosphere. Still, they are well-made and visually interesting. The art collection on Adventure reflects a serious commitment to art. It goes beyond merely enhancing the décor of the ship. Whether one likes the works or not, it cannot be denied that they are thought-provoking. |
Above:"The Dive" by Larry Kirkland is the centerpiece of the Royal Promenade.
Above: Lincoln Seligman's “Kinetica” in the forward atrium.
Below: Seen from below, in the aft atrium, Per Olav A. Austdahl's “Planetarium.” 
Above: "Woven Structure II" by Astrid Lovaas and Kristen Wagle in one of Adventure's stair towers.
Below: Ben Twiston Davies - an artist painting a mural on the walls of the Royal Promenade. 
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Cruise ship art collection review -Royal Caribbean - - Adventure of the Seas