The Cadillac Ranch in Texas

Monday, 8 February 2016 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  4 minutes

© flickr.com - Richie Diesterheft/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Richie Diesterheft/cc-by-2.0

Cadillac Ranch is not a ranch but a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. It consists of what were (when originally installed during 1974) either older running used or junk Cadillac automobiles, representing a number of evolutions of the car line (most notably the birth and death of the defining feature of mid twentieth century Cadillacs: the tailfins) from 1949 to 1963, half-buried nose-first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Cadillac Ranch is visible from the highway, and though located on private land, visiting it (by driving along a frontage road and entering the pasture by walking through an unlocked gate) is tacitly encouraged. In addition, writing graffiti on or otherwise spray-painting the vehicles is now encouraged, and the vehicles, which have long since lost their original colors, are wildly decorated. The cars are periodically repainted various colors (once white for the filming of a television commercial, another time pink in honor of Stanley’s wife Wendy’s birthday, and yet another time all 10 cars were painted flat black to mark the passing of Ant Farm artist Doug Michels, or simply to provide a fresh canvas for future visitors). In 2012 they were painted rainbow colors to commemorate gay pride day. The cars were briefly “restored” to their original colors by the motel chain Hampton Inn in a public relations-sponsored series of Route 66 landmark restoration projects. The new paint jobs and even the plaque commemorating the project lasted less than 24 hours without fresh graffiti.

© flickr.com - Richie Diesterheft/cc-by-2.0 © flickr.com - Sarah Nichols/cc-by-sa-2.0 © flickr.com - Richie Diesterheft/cc-by-2.0
<
>
© flickr.com - Richie Diesterheft/cc-by-2.0
Chip Lord and Doug Michels were architects; Marquez was an art student at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to Chip Lord, “Ant Farm was founded as an alternative architectural practice, kind of an experiment in an attempt to subvert normal corporate ways of doing architecture.” According to Marquez, “Chip and I were living in the mountains north of San Francisco, and there was a book meant for kids left in a bar near where we lived. It was called ‘The Look of Cars,’ and there was something on the rise and fall of the tail fin. I didn’t have a lot to do, so I just sorta drew it up. I’ve always loved the Cadillacs.”

The group claims to have been given a list of eccentric millionaires in 1972 in San Francisco, identifying Stanley Marsh 3 of Amarillo amongst those who might be able to fund one of their projects and submitted it to him. Marsh’s response began “It’s going to take me awhile to get used to the idea of the Cadillac Ranch. I’ll answer you by April Fool’s Day. It’s such an irrelevant and silly proposition that I want to give it all my time and attention so I can make a casual judgement of it.”

Read more on Wikipedia Cadillac Ranch (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Theme Week Cuba - Isla de la Juventud

Theme Week Cuba - Isla de la Juventud

[caption id="attachment_161567" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Cayo Largo del Sur © Panther/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Isla de la Juventud (English: Isle of Youth) is the second-largest Cuban island and the seventh-larg...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Croatian Adriatic Coast - Korčula Town

Theme Week Croatian Adriatic Coast - Korčula Town

[caption id="attachment_161642" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Cord Walter/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Korčula is a historic fortified town on the protected east coast of the island of Korčula. The old city is surrou...

[ read more ]

Raclette

Raclette

[caption id="attachment_245144" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Superbass/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Raclette is a dish of Swiss origin, also popular in the other Alpine countries (France, Germany, Austria), based on h...

[ read more ]

Slavkov u Brna or Austerlitz in the Czech Republic

Slavkov u Brna or Austerlitz in the Czech Republic

[caption id="attachment_220350" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Slavkov u Brna © flickr.com - flightlog/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Slavkov u Brna (historically known in German as Austerlitz) is a town in Vyškov District in...

[ read more ]

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich

[caption id="attachment_150906" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Karen Roe/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Kazakhstan - Atyrau

Theme Week Kazakhstan - Atyrau

[caption id="attachment_191956" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Ural River in Atyrau © Ds02006[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Atyrau, known as Guryev until 1991, is the capital of Atyrau Region. It is located at the mouth of the Ural Riv...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Andalusia - Isla Cristina

Theme Week Andalusia - Isla Cristina

[caption id="attachment_153227" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Plaza Flores © Fanattiq/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Isla Cristina is a city and municipality located in the province of Huelva. The city has a population of 21,...

[ read more ]

The Lago Maggiore

The Lago Maggiore

[caption id="attachment_153701" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Isola Bella - Borromean Islands © Mbdortmund[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of ...

[ read more ]

Monaco on the French Riviera

Monaco on the French Riviera

[caption id="attachment_150733" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Georges DICK[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Monaco is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one ...

[ read more ]

Cathedral Quarter in Belfast

Cathedral Quarter in Belfast

[caption id="attachment_227865" align="aligncenter" width="590"] St. Anne Catherdal - flickr.com - Stuart/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Cathedral Quarter (Irish: Ceathrú na hArdeaglaise) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is ...

[ read more ]

Melbourne City in Australia

Melbourne City in Australia

[caption id="attachment_223175" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Melbourne's Central Business District © Melbpal/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Melbourne is the capital and most-populous city of the Australian state of Victor...

[ read more ]

Eiderstedt, St. Peter-Ording and Tönning

Eiderstedt, St. Peter-Ording and Tönning

EIDERSTEDT PENINSULA [caption id="attachment_159799" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Eiderstedt - Lighthouse Westerhever © Viola sonans[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Eiderstedt is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the Ger...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top