Ryan Weideman American, b. 1941

Ryan Weideman (b. 1941) is most known for his survey of self portraits and/or portraits of passengers taken by the artist within his taxicab over the last two decades.  Weideman's taxi-portraits bridge the generation of classic New York street photographers and more recent photographers who highlight the inherent theatricality of urban experience and identity.

In 1980, Ryan Weideman cruised into New York City to become a street photographer.  Having graduated with an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts, Weideman already had a style greatly influenced by the great photographers of the period; Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, and Mark Cohen. Yet, after a month in New York City, Weideman’s focus turned to more immediate goals – earning money to pay his rent.  Soon after renting a tenement on West 43^rd Street (an apartment in which he still lives), a chance encounter with a neighbor who drove a taxi led Weideman to his newfound profession.  To this day, Ryan Weideman is a full time New York City taxicab driver.

From photographing models to poets, drag queens to celebrities, Ryan Weideman has skillfully transformed his taxicab into a highly innovative photo-studio.  These hand-held photographs are extraordinary, not only for their technical merit, but also for their density of composition, often including driver, passenger, and subjects beyond the cab windows in a single frame.

In the winter of 1990, a chance encounter would lead to Weidman’s defining image as an artist; Allen Ginsberg stepped into the artist’s studio.  Holding up the receipt for the ride, Ginsberg displayed his newest verse:

“Backseat of a New York Taxi is a human zoo.  Ryan Weideman taxi-dermist has mounted these human species types with humor and boldness and precision. A Passenger Allen Ginsberg 12/2/90”

Ryan Weideman’s work is a part of such prestigious collections as the Brooklyn Museum, the Oakland Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.  Weideman’s awards include Guggenheim Fellowship Grant (1992-1993,) a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (1986-1987,) and a NEA Fellowship Grant (1984-1985.)