Lyon made his way back to New York in 1966 as his mother advised him. 'If you’re bored, just talk to someone on the subway,' she told him.
Lyons took that advice to heart and made it the subject of his art.
'Brooklyn is changing very rapidly and so many newcomers have joined long-time residents among the 40,000 people who use the Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr station every day. ‘Underground: 1966’ is a great opportunity to show them how it used to be, and to show off the work of a ground-breaking photographer who was born in Brooklyn,' said Lester Burg, Senior Manager of MTA Arts & Design.
'“Underground: 1966” comprises eight large-scale photographs that show a lone woman standing on the platform; two women bundled up from the elements; a dapper reveller; a lone sailor, and two teenagers waiting on an elevated platform,' says the MTA website.
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The standstills evoke a feeling that each subject is lost in thought as they travel through the city of millions.
'There is something about taking the work to where the people are that makes for a different viewer connection from visiting a museum to see an exhibit,' said Lyon who expressed his delight with the fact his work can be viewed on the subway.
To capture the New York moments, Lyon used a Roliflex camera with Kodak safety film slides.
He didn't use a tripod during long exposures so some of the figures appear ghostlike in nature.
MTA Arts & Design’s light box project exhibits photography at four locations within the transit system.
