You Can Smell It Before You Can See It
Not every tornado chasing trip is storm after storm. There are down days to fill with side trips to roadside attractions. May 20, 2016 was one of those “severely clear” days.
It was a hot Texas morning just west of Amarillo on Route 66. I could smell it way before I saw it. The odor of spray paint permeated the air.
Cadillac Ranch
I was at Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation. Ten Cadillacs are half-buried nose-down in a field at the same angle as the Cheops Pyramid. It has been stopping visitors since 1974. Go anytime; it’s open 24/7/365 and there’s no admission.
Texas millionaire Stanley Marsh, 3 was an eccentric. Down to earth, he felt the “III” was too pretentious and changed it to a simple “3.”
In 1973, Marsh invited a San Francisco artists’ collective called the Ant Farm to help him create a unique work of art. He wanted something for his sprawling ranch just west of Amarillo.
The Ant Farm bought ten used Cadillacs from junkyards. They represented the “Golden Age” of American automobiles. Costing an average of $200 each, the cars ranged in model years from 1948 to 1963. They were half buried along the tattered remains of historic Route 66 on Marsh’s ranch.
The project was completed in 1974. In no time at all, visitors began to come from all over the world, leaving their mark on the ever-thickening graffiti-covered cars.
Graffiti
At first, the cars displayed their original paint jobs – turquoise, banana yellow, gold, and sky blue. The monument was barely complete when people started scratching or painting their names in the cars. Over time, vandals and souvenir hounds smashed the windows, made off with all the chrome, radios, speakers and even some of the doors. The wheels have since been welded to the axles to prevent more theft.
Marsh’s opinion? “We think it looks better every year…Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well,” he said. He died in June 2014 at the age of 76.
Changes
In 1997, the Cadillac Ranch was exhumed and replanted about two miles to the west. This placed it further away from the encroaching city of Amarillo. Marsh even ordered the old site’s trash and clutter to be gathered and spread around the new location.
In May 2002, the cars were restored to their original colors. In June 2003, the cars were painted flat black as a memorial, albeit temporary, to the passing of the founding member of the Ant Farm.
The Photo
This is a public sculpture and visitors are encouraged to participate. So, I picked up a couple of cans of Krylon spray paint lying on the ground and added my own graffiti. Afterwards, it was time for a picture and a break from the noxious fumes.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck