''Cadillac Ranch'' is a public art installation and sculpture in

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, US. It was created in 1974 by

Chip Lord Chip Lord is an American media artist and Professor Emeritus, UC Santa Cruz and residing in San Francisco. He is best known for his work with the alternative architecture and media collective known as Ant Farm, which he co-founded with Doug Michels ...

, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group

Ant Farm A formicarium or ant farm is a vivarium which is designed primarily for the study of ant colonies and how ants behave. Those who study ant behavior are known as myrmecologists. History The formicarium was invented by Charles Janet, a French ...

. The installation consists of ten

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

s (1949–1963) buried nose-first in the ground. Installed in 1974, the cars were either older running, used or junk cars — together spanning the successive generations of the car line — and the defining evolution of their

tailfins The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the ...

. The cars are inclined at the same angle as the pyramids at

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

History

Chip Lord and Doug Michels were architects; Marquez was an art student at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. 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 Stanley Marsh 3 (January 31, 1938 – June 17, 2014) was an American artist, businessman, philanthropist, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas. He is perhaps best known for having been the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch, an unusual public art exhi ...

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 judgment of it."

Relocation

''Cadillac Ranch'' was originally located in a wheat field, but in 1997, the installation was quietly moved by a local contractor to a location two miles (three kilometers) to the west, to a cow pasture along

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, in order to place it farther from the limits of the growing city. Both sites belonged to the local millionaire Stanley Marsh 3, the patron of the project. Marsh was well known in the city for his longtime patronage of artistic endeavors including the ''Cadillac Ranch''; ''Floating Mesa''; ''Amarillo Ramp'', a work by land artist

Robert Smithson Robert Smithson (January 2, 1938 – July 20, 1973) was an American artist known for sculpture and land art who often used drawing and photography in relation to the spatial arts. His work has been internationally exhibited in galleries and m ...

; and a series of fake traffic signs throughout the city known collectively as the ''Dynamite Museum''. As of 2013, Stanley Marsh 3 did not own the Cadillac Ranch; ownership appears to have been transferred to a family trust some time before his June 2014 death. ''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. Ant Farm artists have encouraged this kind of public interaction with the cars. 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 again 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 Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...

in a public relations-sponsored series of

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

landmark restoration projects. The new paint jobs and even the plaque commemorating the project lasted less than 24 hours without fresh graffiti. The cars were painted solid black with the words "

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

" in June 2020 by activists protesting police brutality and the murder of

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

2019 fire

On September 8, 2019, the oldest of the Cadillacs was reportedly damaged by an arson fire.

In popular culture

Cadillac Ranch ''Cadillac Ranch'' is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, US. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. The installation consists of ten Cadilla ...

" is the name of a

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

song on his 1980 album '' The River'', later covered by the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

and

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

. The music video for the 1985 song "Living in America" by James Brown and the music video for the 2008 song "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant both feature imagery of the Cadillac Ranch. The Cadillac Ranch is also featured on the cover of singer/songwriter Russell Christian's first EP "Chassis". In the 1990 book ''12 Days on the Road: The Sex Pistols and America'', the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

pass by Cadillac Ranch on their way to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

during their sole American tour.

Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and agai ...

sneered and sarcastically claimed it "a stirring work." The 1996 film ''Cadillac Ranch'' directed by Lisa Gottlieb and starring

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

and Suzy Amis is set in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

around its namesake ranch.

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

's 2006

animated film Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

'' depicts a ''Cadillac Range'' as a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

formation; the film's credits directly acknowledge the Ant Farm collective and the ''Cadillac Ranch''. In a case of art-imitating-art-imitating-art, that image from the film ''Cars'' has been constructed as a centerpiece of

Cars Land ''Cars'' Land is a themed area of Disney California Adventure, inspired by the Disney·Pixar franchise, ''Cars'', and Route 66 in America. The area, built as part of Disney California Adventure Park's $1.1 billion expansion project, opened on Ju ...

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

. In the final scene of the ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' episode "

Hank Gets Dusted Hank is a male given name. It may have been inspired by the Dutch name Henk,The Origins of 10 Nicknam ...

Hank Hill Hank Rutherford HillSeason Five, Episode Ten: Yankee Hankie (at time 04:42 of 22:30) Birth Certificate has his name listed as Hank Rutherford Hill (born April 15, 1953) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Fox animated tele ...

has his father's Cadillac, which he cherished growing up, pushed front first into a hole along with other Cadillacs to reference the ''Cadillac Ranch''. Cadillac Ranch serves as the setting for the video for the 2009 song "

Honky Tonk Stomp "Honky Tonk Stomp" is a song recorded by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was written by duo member Ronnie Dunn along with Terry McBride (musician), Terry McBride and Bobby Pinson. It is the 50th overall single for the duo, the second ...

" by country duo

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

, which was the duo's last video. The band

Atomic Tom Atomic Tom is an alternative rock band originally from Brooklyn, New York, now living in Los Angeles, California, consisting of Luke White (lead vocals), Eric Espiritu (guitar, background vocals), Ethan Mentzer (bass, background vocals), and Tobia ...

filmed a video at Cadillac Ranch in November 2011. In 1992 country music artist Chris LeDoux released a song titled "Cadillac Ranch", written by Chuck Jones and Chris Waters, on his album ''Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy''. It was a duet with

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

. The song reached #18 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and #16 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. Book cover artist David Pelham discusses "Jungian Zeitgeist" and other buried 1974 Cadillacs (his cover painting for JG Ballard's novel, ''The Drought'' (Penguin edition, 1974) and Neil Young's On the Beach album cover) in a 2012 interview. A scene filmed at the ranch appeared in the 2017 film '' Bomb City''. In May of 2019, photographer/artist George Edward Freeney Jr. photographed the “Cadillac Ranch” inspired by reflecting on his childhood experiences of extending the artistic approach by spray painting on them several times while evading local authorities and his mother in the 1980s, he made “West Texas Street Painter” and “West Texas Street Painted”, limited edition imagery. In August 2020, singer Rihanna took an "art" selfie at the Cadillac Ranch, alongside a message on a car showing disapproval for Donald Trump.

References

External links

Paint Your Wagons: The Many Colors Of ''Cadillac Ranch''
* Audio interview with co-creator Chip Lord on

The Sound of Young America ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'' (formerly ''The Sound of Young America'') is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). The weekly show is currently h ...