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Alliance Nebraska: Carhenge — An Eyesore or Inspiration?
By Marc | September 29, 2008
For a lot of the last twenty years, I had heard of Carhenge but had never seen it except in photographs. Most people I talked to made it seem like one of the cheesiest things on earth. The impression I got was it was like so many roadside attractions built by people trying to drum up visitors to their towns. You know the ones: ordinary objects sculpted to extraordinary size and scary pavilions meant for children to play around, both types of which haven’t been painted or repaired since Nixon was in office. Actually, before I saw it with my own eyes, that’s what I pictured.
To me, this is not Carhenge.
This last weekend, I finally got to visit this landmark in western Nebraska, just north of Alliance on State Highway 87/County Road 59. We went there with Julie’s brother, who lives in Alliance. Like so many inhabitants of cities with attractions, he doesn’t see the big deal. To me, it was amazing and beautiful.
I love the complexity of shape in the mass-produced parts put together in the simplicity of the overall design. I love the solid gray color uniting it all. I love the surrounding unrelated sculptures built entirely out of cars. But more than anything, we love the dream.
The idea of Carhenge was inspired by the death of artist Jim Reinder’s father, Herman, in 1982. Jim wanted something grand as a memorial to him and had the help of family to build it in the summer of 1987, ending in “a dedication on the Summer Solstice in 1987, with champagne, poetry, songs and a play written by the family.” I love that they just got together and did it. They didn’t have big fund raisers to get money, or hire a planning commission to spend years and hundreds of thousands for something they may never happen. They rounded up the family, tractors and tools and went to work!
Although the attraction proved to be popular, there were a few who saw it as an eyesore and wanted it “scrapped”. In order to save Carhenge, the people for it needed to stand up to its enemies, so the Friends of Carhenge was organized by Sherry Garrett. From the official site:
Soon the city council got involved and ordered the car art torn down. Garett visited with Councilman Paul Phaneuf to get an idea of what the city would require to keep Carhenge alive. She called a public meeting of Carhenge supporters at the site and the response was overwhelming.
“My desire to create Friends was because I thought that the city council was giving Jim a pretty bum rap on the “do’s and don’ts of what could and could not be on his property.”
Even today, people will snicker and joke about the absurdity of Carhenge. They may say it’s an eyesore or just another lame attraction. Are these people right? Or do they lack imagination, adventure, and romance? Are they just out the squash a dream?
Look at your own life. Have you ever had a dream to do the “absurd”? Have you wanted make something or do something that nobody around you would approve of? Who’s against you? What are their reasons? Who is on your side? How far will they go to support you? How willing are you to fight until your dream is a reality? I’m glad the founders of Carhenge fought. Even the city of Alliance isn’t complaining as much, because nothing else brings in tourists, and money, from all over the USA to their town.
Click here for more of our pictures from Carhenge!
Topics: Art, Encouragement, Life and Living |
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
I love Carhenge too. We went way out of our way on a cross-country trip to see it and it was well worth it. It’s not ugly… it’s a work of art.