Stanley Marsh 3
Encyclopedia
Stanley Marsh 3 is an artist
, philanthropist
, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas
, USA
. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch
, an unusual public art exhibit west of Amarillo.
to create the Cadillac Ranch. Marsh has funded other public art projects in Amarillo besides Cadillac Ranch, which include the "Dynamite Museum," an ongoing project consisting of hundreds of mock traffic signs. These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end," "Lubbock
is a grease spot," and "I have traveled a great deal in Amarillo," may be found throughout the city of Amarillo. A series of the mock traffic signs are also displayed in Adrian
, Texas, about 45 miles west of Amarillo. Marsh was said to have wanted the signs to be placed in towns beginning with the letter "A". Additional public art projects sponsored by Marsh were a supposed remains of a giant statue called "Ozymandias
" and the "Floating Mesa," a huge natural mesa
with a narrow white band wrapped on top of it. Despite the attention of the art projects sponsored by Marsh, critics have called them eyesores with little or no artistic value. In response to the criticism, he is quoted as saying, "Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well."
Marsh also appears in documentaries which featured Cadillac Ranch or the city of Amarillo such as The Plutonium Circus and Road Does Not End, a short documentary by a Dallas
-based filmmaker about Marsh and the art projects he funded.
In 1999, Marsh disrupted a live television broadcast from Amarillo by the cable television network The Weather Channel when he performed a Native American
snow dance in front of the cameras.
"3" in place of the traditional Roman numeral
"III" ("the third"), as he considers the latter to be pretentious.
Marsh also owned Texas television station
s, KVIA-TV
and KVII-TV
through the Marsh Media company. The offices of Marsh Enterprises are located in Amarillo's tallest building, Chase Tower
.
In the 1990s, Marsh had four lawsuits alleging imprisonment, sexual misconduct and harassment of teens. All four of them were later settled. One of the lawsuits included a member of the Whittenburg family, the former owners of the Amarillo Globe-News
.
Marsh and his wife, Gwendolyn O'Brien "Wendy" Marsh, reside in an estate called "Toad Hall." The couple has five children, including Stanley Marsh, IV (born October 1, 1968). The Marsh family founded The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
. The family also donated land to Ascension Academy, an Amarillo private school
. Wendy Marsh has chaired the Amarillo College
Board of Trustees.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, and prankster from Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is perhaps best known as the sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, U.S. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm, and it consists of what were either older running used or junk Cadillac automobiles, representing a...
, an unusual public art exhibit west of Amarillo.
Art projects and pranks
In the 1970s, Marsh collaborated with the art group Ant FarmAnt Farm (group)
Ant Farm was an avant-garde architecture, graphic arts, and environmental design practice, founded in San Francisco in 1968 by Chip Lord and Doug Michels.-The group:...
to create the Cadillac Ranch. Marsh has funded other public art projects in Amarillo besides Cadillac Ranch, which include the "Dynamite Museum," an ongoing project consisting of hundreds of mock traffic signs. These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end," "Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
is a grease spot," and "I have traveled a great deal in Amarillo," may be found throughout the city of Amarillo. A series of the mock traffic signs are also displayed in Adrian
Adrian, Texas
Adrian is a city in Oldham County, Texas, United States. The population was 159 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 149.-Geography:...
, Texas, about 45 miles west of Amarillo. Marsh was said to have wanted the signs to be placed in towns beginning with the letter "A". Additional public art projects sponsored by Marsh were a supposed remains of a giant statue called "Ozymandias
Ozymandias
"Ozymandias" is a sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818 in the January 11 issue of The Examiner in London. It is frequently anthologised and is probably Shelley's most famous short poem...
" and the "Floating Mesa," a huge natural mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
with a narrow white band wrapped on top of it. Despite the attention of the art projects sponsored by Marsh, critics have called them eyesores with little or no artistic value. In response to the criticism, he is quoted as saying, "Art is a legalized form of insanity, and I do it very well."
Marsh also appears in documentaries which featured Cadillac Ranch or the city of Amarillo such as The Plutonium Circus and Road Does Not End, a short documentary by a Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
-based filmmaker about Marsh and the art projects he funded.
In 1999, Marsh disrupted a live television broadcast from Amarillo by the cable television network The Weather Channel when he performed a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
snow dance in front of the cameras.
Personal life
Stanley Marsh 3's father, Stanley Marsh, was an oilman who, along with Don Harrington and Lawrence R. Hagy, started a business that developed oil and gas properties in the Texas Panhandle. While Marsh is the third person in his family named Stanley, he uses the Arabic numeralArabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
"3" in place of the traditional Roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
"III" ("the third"), as he considers the latter to be pretentious.
Marsh also owned Texas television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s, KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV is an ABC affiliate television station in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 7 and channel 17. It is owned by and was the flagship television station of the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri before the company acquired KRDO-TV. Its transmitter is...
and KVII-TV
KVII-TV
-External links:** — live pictures of downtown Amarillo and surroundings from KVII's Sky Cam...
through the Marsh Media company. The offices of Marsh Enterprises are located in Amarillo's tallest building, Chase Tower
Chase Tower (Amarillo)
Chase Tower is a 374-foot, 31-story building located in Amarillo, Texas, United States. Formerly known as SPS Tower and Bank One Center, it is the tallest building in Amarillo and the West Texas region. The building used to be the home of the Amarillo branch of American National Bank...
.
In the 1990s, Marsh had four lawsuits alleging imprisonment, sexual misconduct and harassment of teens. All four of them were later settled. One of the lawsuits included a member of the Whittenburg family, the former owners of the Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News
Amarillo Globe-News is a newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by the Morris Communications Company.The current-day Globe-News is a combination of several newspapers published in Amarillo. One began on November 4, 1909, as a prohibition publication by the Baptist deacon Dr. Joseph Elbert Nunn...
.
Marsh and his wife, Gwendolyn O'Brien "Wendy" Marsh, reside in an estate called "Toad Hall." The couple has five children, including Stanley Marsh, IV (born October 1, 1968). The Marsh family founded The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Lectureship in Pharmacology and Neurochemistry of Substance Abuse/Addiction at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center offers programs in Allied Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. TTUHSC's main campus is in Lubbock, but campuses are also located in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso and the Permian Basin...
. The family also donated land to Ascension Academy, an Amarillo private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
. Wendy Marsh has chaired the Amarillo College
Amarillo College
Amarillo College is a two-year fully accredited community college in Amarillo, Texas with over 10,000 students that was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College...
Board of Trustees.