About Cadillac Ranch
West of Amarillo, ten Cadillacs are buried nose-first in a field beside Interstate 40. Their tail fins point toward the Texas sky while decades of spray paint coat the cars in so many layers that their original surfaces have nearly disappeared. Cadillac Ranch has been confusing passing motorists since 1974.
The installation was created by the art collective Ant Farm for Amarillo millionaire Stanley Marsh 3. The cars represent several generations of Cadillac design and were planted at an angle in the dirt, transforming a lineup of used automobiles into one of America’s most recognizable pieces of roadside art.
Visitors did not leave the sculpture alone. Painting the cars became part of the experience, and fresh colors, names, messages, symbols, and entire designs are constantly sprayed over older ones. The result is a sculpture that changes by the hour. Even when the cars are repainted a single color for an event or restoration, new graffiti quickly begins accumulating again.
Cadillac Ranch is free and visible around the clock from the frontage road. The walk across the field can become muddy after rain, and abandoned spray cans have long been one of the less charming side effects of the tradition. Still, few roadside attractions match the basic absurdity of ten automobiles standing vertically in farm soil while strangers arrive with paint to make them even less recognizable.