Castellani Art Museum invites visitors to discover eerie side of art this October

‘Art That Is Eerie’ brings self-guided art hunt to CAM’s galleries in connection with ‘Haunted Lewiston’

Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University press release & image

This October, the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University is inviting visitors to look at art a little differently with “Art That Is Eerie,” a free, self-guided experience presented in connection with “Haunted Lewiston.”

Throughout the month, visitors can explore CAM’s galleries in search of ghost icons marking selected works of art that evoke the mysterious, unsettling, strange or unexpected. Rather than focusing solely on traditional Halloween imagery, “Art That Is Eerie” asks visitors to consider a larger question: What makes a work of art feel eerie?

Sometimes it is a darkened landscape or an unfamiliar figure. Other times, it may be a work’s connection to mortality, war, isolation, the spirit world, or environmental destruction. In some cases, the unsettling feeling comes not from what the artist has shown, but from what the viewer imagines might be there.

Selected artworks are accompanied by extended interpretive labels that reveal stories, historical context, and questions designed to encourage visitors to look more closely. Works featured in the experience range from Albert Pinkham Ryder’s atmospheric “Moonlit Coastal Scene” and William Wegman’s surreal “Elk’s Club,” to Tim Rollins and K.O.S.’s “The Red Badge of Courage (after Stephen Crane)” and Robert W. Fichter’s “Distress Signal.”

The program offers a playful entry point into CAM’s collection while encouraging deeper observation and conversation about how art can evoke emotion, uncertainty, memory and imagination.

Visitors can pick up an “Art That Is Eerie” guide at the museum’s front desk and search for the ghosts throughout the galleries. The experience is free, family-friendly, self-guided, and available throughout October during regular museum hours, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The Castellani Art Museum is located on the Niagara University campus at 7 Varsity Drive, Niagara University.

“Art That Is Eerie” is presented in connection with “Haunted Lewiston.”

More about the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University: With learning and public access at the heart of its mission, the Castellani Art Museum is a major resource for the visual arts in Niagara County. CAM’s permanent collection includes more than 5,000 works of modern and contemporary art, Niagara Falls art, and regional folk arts. The museum is committed to preserving these works while presenting exhibitions and programs that serve the Niagara University campus, local communities, and visitors to the region.

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