Fluorescent lighting, dark tunnels, scurrying rats and questionable dripping: New York City’s subway stations could serve as a spooky backdrop on nearly any day, but around Halloween, the sprawling subterranean system comes alive with bustling costumed figures — all of whom have somewhere to be, thanks. For nearly two decades, one New York photographer, who goes by the artist name Seymour Licht, has documented spectral, peculiar and outlandish parade- and partygoers in transit across the city. In one photo, an imitator of surrealist artist Rene Magritte sits in a train car, holding a picture frame with an apple suspended above his face; in another, the dark-haired ghoulish Samara from the cult horror film “The Ring” waits underground for the next train to arrive. Now, Licht has put together a book called “Halloween Underground,” timed to the 50th anniversary of the Village Halloween Parade. “I started with documentary (photography), just recording what I saw,” Licht said. “And then I was so transfixed, that I wanted to elevate it and (make it) more magical and surreal.” Although Licht has photographed above-ground revelers, too, he found he was more drawn to the transitory themes unfolding as crowds moved through downtown hubs including Union Square and West 4th Street in Manhattan, and busy stations like Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. “The subway is a liminal space, and Halloween is a liminal time,” he said, referring to its origins in Samhain, the ancient Gaelic festival that signaled the end of harvest season. “It’s the time when the dead come over to visit and mingle among the living.” Through his photos, one can chart changes to photography — Licht began with Fuji transparency film and shoots digitally now — updates to the subway and shifts in pop culture, too. There’re appearances by classic horror villains Pennywise and Michael Myers, glittering angels, a six-foot-tall frog prince, and the married foxes from the 2009 Wes Anderson adaptation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” among others. One unfortunate trend Licht has noticed, however? A drop in the complexity and originality of many ensembles. “I think the more elaborate costumes, where you see people put a lot of thought and time in it, are a little bit more uncommon,” he said of recent years. Twenty years on, Licht ultimately views the work as a “fantastical ride” through the underbelly of the city. “The wonderful thing about Halloween is that people generally are game,” he said. “They’re out there to have a good time.”(SD-Agencies) Words to Learn 相關詞匯 【交往】 jiāowǎng mingle move around and talk to other people at a social event 【躍躍欲試】 yuèyuè yùshì game eager or willing to do something new or challenging 熒光燈、黑暗的隧道、亂竄的老鼠和可疑的滴水聲：紐約地鐵幾乎每一天都有點兒詭異，但萬圣節前后，這個龐大的地下系統更是擠滿熙熙攘攘、打扮怪誕的人 —— 他們各得其所。 近二十年來，一位藝名叫西摩?利希特的紐約攝影師用鏡頭記錄下了城市中那些奇形怪狀的游行者和狂歡者。一張照片中，模仿超現實主義藝術家勒內?馬格里特的乘客坐在車廂里，手里拿著畫框，畫框上方一只蘋果擋在面前；另一張照片中，邪典恐怖片 《午夜兇鈴》中的可怕黑發女貞子在等待下一班列車的到來。 利希特將這些照片整理成書出版，名為《地下萬圣節》，紀念格林威治村萬圣節游行50周年。 他說：“我最早從事紀實（攝影），只是拍照記錄生活。后來我迷上了攝影，希望照片更加神奇、超現實。” 雖然利希特也拍攝過地面上的狂歡者，但更吸引他的是匆忙趕路的地鐵人群，他們穿過曼哈頓聯合廣場和西四街這些中心樞紐，或者在布魯克林的貝德福德大道這類繁忙的站點等候。 他說：“地鐵是一個過渡空間，而萬圣節是一個過渡時間。”起源于蓋爾人古老的薩溫節，萬圣節慶祝收獲季的結束。他說：“這是亡靈回到人間的日子。” 通過照片，人們可以看到變化的攝影技術（利希特最初使用透明富士膠片，現在用數碼相機）、不斷更新的地鐵以及潮流的變遷。 照片中有經典恐怖角色潘尼懷斯和邁克爾?邁爾斯、閃閃發光的天使、六英尺高的青蛙王子，以及狐貍夫婦 —— 他倆出自2009年韋斯?安德森改編的電影《了不起的狐貍爸爸》。 不過利希特也注意到了一個令人遺憾的趨勢。近年來裝扮的復雜性和原創性都不如從前了。 他說：“越來越少人愿意花費大量心思和時間精心打扮了。” 二十年過去了，利希特的這本攝影集記錄了穿越城市地下的“奇幻之旅”。 他說：“萬圣節的奇妙之處在于，人們都興致勃勃出門找樂。” (Translated by Debra) | 