Harris Allen's Art Makes Waves On The East End

Despite the fact that the work of Sag Harbor artist Harris Allen is shown on a monitor, his art is more than just a video.

It's a window to the outside world with a focus on the water.

Allen’s art, which he still refers to as a canvas despite the fact that it moves, showcases the intricate details and textures of water on the East End, specifically Sag Harbor Bay.

“Coming out here, I was drawn to the water,” said Allen, who grew up in Illinois and is also a lifelong sailor. He learned to sail at summer camp as a child, and, as someone who still sails weekly in Sag Harbor, finds himself enjoying the water all year round.

“It’s kind of religious for me,” confessed Allen, who adds that he chose video as his preferred artistic medium because he felt that it was his language. He hopes his art captures those feelings.

“When people think of that ideal summer they had in the Hamptons, they will always mention the water,” he said. “It’s that idea I pursue.”

Allen said he feels at home on the East End where he appreciates both the farms and the water. He said he “stumbles upon the beauty” of the area daily.

Tapping into the local environment and natural beauty of the region, earlier this summer, Allen outfitted a barn in Sagaponack where he showcased his work. In addition, in mid-July Allen’s video pieces were on view as part of the Hamptons Fine Art Fair in Southampton.

In many ways, it’s natural that Allen would gravitate toward moving images in his art. He has been filming since he was 11 years old. Growing up in Illinois, Allen would often rush home from school to shoot and edit his own movies.

Now, 16 years later, his art is more than just a movie — it evokes the same feeling as looking at the bay itself.

Allen’s art, which he calls “moving paintings,” is created by “painting with pixels,” and he is careful about crafting his compositions during the creation process.

His art pieces vary in length, from a few minutes to two hours. After shooting the waters of the East End, Harris edits the footage and puts it on the screen. The videos are silent and Allen calls the screens “windows” because they change the vibe of any room in which they are displayed.

“A window transforms a space, it defines a room,” he explained. “That’s what I’m doing here with water.”

Allen’s overarching goal with his work is to transform video imagery into a romantic art medium — similar to painting — while breaking ground in the world of video art.

Allen says he is inspired by the romantic period of art, when nature was representative of a connection to spirituality. He is also inspired by the late minimalist artist Donald Judd and the 19th-century German landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich, and his own art is meant to be a combination of minimalist and romantic art.

“I try to also compose it so if it was just one frame, it would be an amazing printable photograph, but it just so happens to move,” he added.

Through the creation of his art, Allen realized that people see water through texture and movement more than just through color.

“The mind fills in the color,” said Allen. “What you think says ‘water’ might not actually be what the mind knows to be water.”

He noted that while he has a whole series of black and white footage, people tell him how much they love the colorful blue shades of his pieces.

In terms of Allen and his art, water is not a subject he will soon give up on.

“I could do water forever and not repeat myself,” Allen admitted. “Water is the vehicle to communicate the real subject of the work, which is the emotion. That’s what the work is about.”

With fall fast approaching, you can be sure that Allen is already looking ahead to cooler days on the water, where he’s certain to find more inspiration.

“Fall is a great season to sail, swim and create,” he said.

So until his next show, be sure to look for Harris Allen near the bays and waterways of the East End , no doubt with his camera in hand.