Recently I visited Buffalo Gal and Drawer Dude in Amarillo, Texas, at the Cadillac Ranch. Since 1997 this public art sculpture exhibition has been located along Interstate 40 a few miles west of Amarillo, but when originally created in 1974, it was situated a couple of miles east.
In 1974 Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, members of Ant Farm, a San Francisco art community, buried the front ends of Cadillac automobiles (model years 1949 to 1963) with their tails (and tail fins) sticking upwards. Want to see what it looked like 40 years ago, before the graffiti? As always, click the images to bigify.
Cadillac Ranch (1974)
Cadillac Ranch (1974)
Cadillac Ranch (after 1977--see graffiti) (ca. 1978)
People stopping to see the art formation added to the structures by leaving graffiti, but they detracted from them, too, by removing bits and pieces (including the tail fins) of the cars to keep as souvenirs. Today it looks like this.
Your Feline Roving Reporter Poses at Cadillac Ranch
(Photo by Drawer Dude & Buffalo Gal)
If you happen to visit Amarillo, be sure to stop by and take some photos. But leave the cars alone. Take only pictures, and leave only pawprints.
Your Roving Reporter On The Go,
Cauli Le Chat
P.S. In 1977, Neil Sedaka performed live "Is This the Way to Amarillo," which was released as a single (1977) from his album, A Song (1977). Tony Christie first released a cover of the song in 1971. Wait--if Christie released it first, then Sedaka subsequently covered his own composition (it was written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield). This is getting confusing.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.