Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, in 1992
In 1992, I began a journey through the American Southwest from Dallas. After spending a few days with friends I had met at university, I headed towards Amarillo. My first stop was Cadillac Ranch, an art installation I had often heard about and wanted to see for myself.
Cadillac Ranch, ten cars planted in the ground
Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, members of the art collective Ant Farm. The project was commissioned by Texas patron Stanley Marsh 3.
The installation consists of ten Cadillacs produced between 1949 and 1963. The cars are lined up in a field, with their front ends buried in the ground as far as the rear doors. Their 60-degree angle echoes that of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The sequence of models reflects a significant period in American automotive history. In particular, it shows the evolution of the rear tailfins characteristic of Cadillacs from the 1950s and early 1960s.
Over time, the car bodies have become a means of expression for visitors. Layers of paint and graffiti overlap, continually transforming the appearance of the installation.
When I visited in 1992, the cars were predominantly blue, punctuated by red, white, yellow and black lettering. This colour created a visual continuity with the Texas sky. The brown earth and sparse vegetation structured the lower part of the landscape.
Cadillac Ranch at its original location
These photographs show Cadillac Ranch at its original location. In 1997, the ten cars were removed from the ground, transported and reinstalled a few kilometres farther west.
In 1992, the artwork still stood in the middle of a vast agricultural landscape, surrounded by largely open countryside. The very low horizon gave the sky a prominent place and strengthened the graphic presence of the cars rising from the field.
Depending on the viewpoint, the Cadillacs formed a regular line or a denser succession of painted bodies, wheels and chassis. Their repetition gave the installation an immediately recognisable structure while allowing for numerous variations in composition.
Six photographs from different viewpoints
I made six photographs, varying the distance, the camera height and the angle in relation to the line of cars.
The wider views place all ten Cadillacs within the surrounding landscape. The large proportion of sky emphasises the horizontal character of the Texas plains and the scale of the installation.
Other photographs follow the row from one end. The perspective brings the cars closer together and transforms their succession into a graphic pattern. The chassis, wheels and mechanical components occupy a more prominent place within the composition.
The photographs taken close to ground level accentuate the angle of the car bodies. The first Cadillac fills a large part of the frame, while the others gradually recede into the distance.
The views taken from the opposite side of the installation reveal a different arrangement of forms. The wheels, axles, layers of paint and vegetation all contribute to the visual structure of the image.
These six photographs therefore show Cadillac Ranch in the summer of 1992, eighteen years after its creation and five years before it was moved. They preserve the appearance of the installation at a specific stage in its history, within the open landscape surrounding Amarillo.
About the author
Sebastien Desnoulez is a photographer, author and image maker based in Paris. His work spans architectural photography, landscape photography and travel photography, with particular attention to composition, lines, light, blur and visual accidents. Trained in photography in the mid-1980s, he covered Formula 1 and reported from around the world before developing a fine art photography practice built around the tension between graphic rigour and visual instability. He also shares his technical experience through practical articles for passionate photographers, drawing on a strong visual culture acquired in both film and digital photography.
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