In T’s latest feature, we celebrate the singularly strange talents and iconoclastic veterans who define New York’s avant-garde. It’s no surprise that, when asked about their favorite freaky art, many of the subjects cited pieces that were born or first shown in the city. The interior designer Ricky Clifton brought up his friend Jean-Michel Basquiat’s roughly circular work “Now’s the Time” (1985), while the performance artist Narcissister mentioned Annie Sprinkle’s “Public Cervix Announcement,” which premiered in 1989 at Manhattan’s Harmony Theater burlesque club before going on a world tour. Below, more of their genre-spanning suggestions.

ImageSalvador Dali’s “The Little Theater” (1934).Credit...© 2024 Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society. Digital Image: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY

“There’s this Salvador Dalí diorama [‘The Little Theater,’ 1934] at MoMA that’s like different panes of glass in a box that creates this sort of three-dimensional effect. That’s an interesting idea. What do I do with that?” — Julio Torres, writer, performer and filmmaker

“Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s movie ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ (2024). It’s a realistic story set in a small Japanese village, except for this one shot: The camera pans to show [children] in the village, but none of them are moving. They’re just frozen.” — Fey Fey, fashion retailer

“I’m obsessed with Madame Tussauds and all wax museums. We act like they’re just for tourists, but they’re so weird. My girlfriend takes photos of me in compromising positions with the figures — the more they don’t look like the celebrity, the better. That’s a great date.” — Matt Starr, artist and poet

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