Cadillac Ranch - Route 66 - Amarillo
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Cadillac Ranch - Route 66 - Amarillo
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The first time I visited the Cadillac Ranch was in 1978. My parents had heard that some eccentric Texas billionaire had buried 10 Cadillacs nose down in the dirt somewhere just outside of Amarillo, and they wanted to see it. But, of course, we didn't know much more than that. In those days before the internet, most vacation planning came from word of mouth. Some friends had just gotten home from a Texas vacation and told them all about it.
I still remember pulling off to the side of the road and seeing those Caddies sticking up in the air. There wasn't another soul in sight, and no one else ever stopped by while we were there. At the time, the cars still had the majority of their parts. Looking at the Cadillac Ranch today, it's hard to believe the hubcaps, tires, bumpers, taillights, and doors were all still there, and while faded, the cars were 99% their natural colors. I remember cars in blue, pink, and white.
Over the years, I have passed the Cadillac Ranch many times, but I never stopped to visit again until my Route 66 road trip. While there, I couldn't help but compare the two visits, and while shocked, I was strangely intrigued.
Today, people show up in droves to visit this art installation created in 1974 by a group of hippy artists out of San Francisco self-named The Ant Farm. A trailer sits off to the side, selling lattes and cans of spray paint. The cars have been stripped down to their frames; if it was removable, it has long since been stolen. The area around the cars is strewn with trash and spray paint cans. Parents that would typically be grounding their children for vandalism are gleefully picking up discarded paint cans and adding a little tagging of their own. The paint is so thick that it is squishy.
Forty-eight years later, this art installation keeps evolving. It doesn't look the same from one day to the next. I think Stanley Marsh 3 (he refused to use the Roman numeral III for third because he said it was pretentious) would have been quite happy with how the Cadillac Ranch turned out.
Since our visit, my husband and I have had several conversations about the Cadillac Ranch. What started as disgust was since turned into awe. We have finally decided if it wasn't for all the paint; what is left of these cars would be a rusted pile of dust by now.
Copyright 2022 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
January 16th, 2022
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