RYAN WEIDEMAN – TAXI-DERMIST
2019-06-17New York City, as sharply and lovingly described by E.B. White in his seminal 1949 essay Here Is New York, is still very much a city full of “strangers who have pulled up stakes somewhere and come to town, seeking sanctuary or fulfillment or some greater or lesser grail. The capacity to make such dubious gifts is a mysterious quality of New York.” This observation was as true then as it was in 1980 when Ryan Weideman first came to Manhattan, as it is now for the people who make New York their chosen home.
As a complete body of work, In My Taxi uniquely portrays the interstitial moments of New York City nightlife. The back bench seat is full of big-time business buzzing around town, or giggling girls piled making their way home on the other side of a long night, or famous raconteurs like Allen Ginsberg and the Beastie Boys. Weideman, always bridging the gap between strangers, immediately joined the party and was often both photographer and subject simultaneously. Images such as Self-Portrait with Black and White Couple illustrate not only the rapport between Weideman and his passengers, but also his acumen wielding the camera from the driver’s seat. Each face is half obscured in darkness while staring down the camera with palpable charisma. Weideman’s deft ability to keep up with the changing landscape and pace of the metropolis and its people over the course of thirty years renders In My Taxi both wonderfully nostalgic and timeless.
Opposite – Beauty Aloof, 1982
Online exhibition runs through to August 30th, 2019
Bruce Silverstein Gallery
529 West 20th Street
New York
10011 NY
