NSNotificationCenter: addObserver that is not self - ios

Question

Here's the question:
Can one View Controller add another View Controller as an Observer to the defaultCenter before the second view has been loaded?
I have a model class that creates a NSURLSession, grabs some data, builds an array, and sends notifications that it's done (along with a pointer to the array).
My app loads with a Map View that instantiates the model, calls the method to create the array, listens for the notification, and drops pins using the array.
I have a Table View tab that I want to load using the array built by the map.
Can my Map View add my Table View Controller as an observer before the Table View is loaded?
Something like:
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver: TableViewController ...
Thanks for any insight. I'm figuring this out as I go.
-----------------EDIT--------------------
viewDidLoad from MapViewController:
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
_mapView.delegate = self;
_model = [[WikiModel alloc] init];
_lastArticleUpdateLocation = [[CLLocation alloc] initWithLatitude:0 longitude:0];
_lastUpdateUserLocation = [[CLLocation alloc] initWithLatitude:0 longitude:0];
// Listen for WikiModel to release updates.
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
selector:#selector(reloadData:)
name:#"Array Complete"
object:_model];
//table view listener attempt ...
UITableViewController *tvc = [self.storyboard instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier:#"tableViewController"];
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:tvc
selector: #selector(updateDataSource:)
name:#"Array Complete"
object:nil];
[self.navigationController pushViewController:tvc animated:YES];
}
From the TableViewController:
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
// Listen for WikiModel to release updates.
/*
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
selector:#selector(updateDataSource:)
name:#"Array Complete"
object:nil];*/
}
-(void)updateDataSource:(NSNotification *)notification
{
_wikiEntries = [[notification userInfo] objectForKey:#"wikiEntryArray"];
[self.tableView reloadData];
NSLog(#"************received***********");
}

Answer 1

This is possible as long as you pass the pointer to your view controller as the observer. Here's an example:
//Go to the detail view
VC2ViewController *dvc = [self.storyboard instantiateViewControllerWithIdentifier:#"VC2ViewController"]; //ID specified in the storyboard
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:dvc selector:#selector(notificationReceived:) name:#"MyNotification" object:nil];
[self.navigationController pushViewController:dvc animated:YES];
Then, you can post your notification as usual:
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] postNotificationName:#"MyNotification" object:nil];
I just tested the above code and it worked fine for me, the following function was called in my detail view controller:
-(void)notificationReceived:(NSNotification *)notification {
NSLog(#"RECEIVED");
}