The Cadillac Ranch

We have spent a second day in Amarillo, Texas as what we call an "off day" -- a non-travel, mostly non-touristy day, a day to just get caught up with shopping, relaxing, and generally a vacation from the non-stop vacation that is our life.

 

We are currently staying at an RV park call "Oasis," which just happens to be next to a huge cornfield.  And in the middle of that cornfield is the Cadillac Ranch.

Cadillacs As Seen From the Road

Per Wikipedia:

"Cadillac Ranch is not a ranch but a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, USA. 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. ^"

Fins to the Left of Me, Fins to the Right of Me

The cars have been immortalized in song, parodied as the Cadillac Mountains in the movie Cars, painted all white, painted all pink, painted all black, and painted in rainbow colors for Gay Pride Day.  Now visitors arrive with spray paint in hand and cover every inch with their own brand of graffiti.  It is truly a mercurial art form.

Spray Painters

Regarding the funds for installation, Wikipedia continues,

"The group claims to have been given a list of eccentric millionaires in 1972 in San Francisco, identifying Stanley Marsh III of Amarillo among 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." 

And our current RV Park?  They have their own version of Cadillac Ranch!

Oasis RV Park Joins the Fun

Cadillac Wanna Be?