« The Bomb Project | Main | Deep Cold » November 19, 2002

Car Art

Who says the US doesn't have culture? Or ancient monuments?

Move over Stonehenge and Coliseum. We have Carhenge and Cadillac Ranch.

Carhenge, off highway 87 in Nebraska, is a recreation/re-invention/re-interpretation of the soggy old Druid ruin, substituting full-size autos for the stones that give Stonehenge its name. In fact Carhenge's creator, artist Jim Reinders, lived in England and studied Stonehenge, before building his Americanized version in '87.

Cadillac Ranch, near Amarillo, Texas, is the older of the two car art monuments. Originally built back in '74 (then moved in 97 to escape encroaching urban sprawl), by the experimental art group, Ant Farm, Cadillac Ranch is both American folk art and white trash wet dream. After acquiring 10 junked Caddys from local lots and junk yards. In May of 74, the Ant Farm team started burying the cars with their front ends deep In the dirt, as if they'd fallen in a perfect row from the cargo hold of some extraterrestrial repo truck.

Anyone for a road trip?

Carhenge
Cadillac Ranch

Posted by Kadrey at November 19, 2002 01:25 PM

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