https://www.jakobgrosseophoff.com/
The second website I will examine is that of Jakob Grosse-Ophoff. Jakob initially worked primarily in illustration, but more recently he has begun creating sculptures based on physical movement using motors and cranks. His sculptures depict various scenes from everyday life through repetitive movements, encouraging viewers to reflect more deeply on certain patterns of behavior.
When entering his website, the first thing visible at the top is his name, with a background video that uniformly presents his works. After scrolling slightly, a menu appears along with a space where visitors can enter their email addresses. Below that, there are icons linking to various platforms. Unlike the previous website, Jakob organizes the “Home” section in this way. When thinking about it again, Zimoun also begins his website with a video that uniformly introduces his works. This is a common feature shared by both artists, and it raises the possibility that Zimoun’s introductory video might essentially function as his “Home” page. It might be worth considering whether artists who create installations involving movement or sound tend to start their websites with video-based homepages. I should examine other artists’ websites in the future to see whether this pattern continues. It is also worth considering in what ways this approach may function effectively.
The first page is titled “Kinetic Sculptures.” Unlike Zimoun, who organizes the menu in a collapsible section at the top right, Jakob places his name at the very top, which also functions as a link back to the Home page, and arranges the menu directly beneath it. Below that, his works are displayed. At the top of this section, the phrase “Selected Works” appears, which suggests that rather than showing all of his works, he is presenting only those he recognizes as official works. Of course, Zimoun also likely follows a similar approach, but since he does not explicitly state it, I question whether it is necessary to write this phrase at all. Personally, I think it might be better not to include it.
The layout of the works also differs from Zimoun’s. While Zimoun places four works in a single row, Jakob displays only two works per row, and all of them are videos rather than photographs. Because of this, the page takes some time to load, which as a visitor makes the browsing experience somewhat unpleasant. Additionally, the videos are so large that it is difficult to see them fully at once without enlarging them. This makes exploring his works less convenient and may discourage viewers from examining each piece more closely.
Below each work, the title and year of production are written. At first glance, the works appear to be arranged chronologically, but in fact they are not. However, Jakob’s website shares one feature with Zimoun’s: the most recent work is placed at the very beginning. It is unclear whether these works will change position when new works are added in the future, but for now this pattern can be observed. While it was possible to infer some intention behind Zimoun’s arrangement of works, Jakob’s layout does not appear to follow any obvious logic. It almost feels random. That said, since it is not particularly distracting, it does not seem to cause any major problems.
The second page is “Painting and Illustration.” Unlike Zimoun, whose practice is based on sound, Jakob’s work originates from illustration, so it is reasonable that the second page is dedicated to this aspect of his practice. Upon entering the page, the first thing visible is a short statement written by the artist:
Currently, my artistic focus is mainly on kinetic sculpture, while two-dimensional work has moved into the background. Until 2023, I spent a lot of time working in classical painting and illustration. I’m planning to return to it, but for now I keep my focus on sculptures. You can find prints of some of my illustrations in the shop.
This also raises the question of whether such a statement is necessary. While it does have the advantage of encouraging purchases, since he sells printed versions of these works on the website, mentioning it again seems somewhat excessive given that there is already a “Shop” section in the menu.
His illustrations based on the design of his installations are grouped two per row. Below these, his earlier illustration works are separated into sections using horizontal lines, and each work is displayed individually in a large format. Some of these images are so large that they do not fully fit within a single page view, meaning the title and specifications of the work cannot always be seen at the same time. Only one of the works includes a written explanation, which makes me wonder why only a single piece has a description. This creates a sense of inconsistency.
Below each work, the title, material, size, and production year are written. The text is quite large and bold, which personally does not match my preferences. It might have been better to display the works first and allow viewers to click on them to access more detailed information.
The third page is the “Shop.” This section is divided into three parts: “Technical Sketch Prints,” “Illustration Prints,” and “Newsletter for Upcoming Art Releases.” If we assume that his body of work will continue to grow, organizing the shop in this way seems like a sensible method. The fact that he sells prints of his works through the website is quite unusual. At first it felt somewhat surprising, but as someone who appreciates his works, I found myself wanting to purchase one, which suggests that it may actually be an effective strategy.
This page also includes written instructions, which I think are quite helpful. They explain how the purchased products will be delivered. For potential buyers, this information is useful, and it may even encourage those who are hesitating to make a purchase.
The next page is “Person.” This section is similar to Zimoun’s “Biography and CV” page. It contains information about the artist, his studio, and his exhibition history. Interestingly, just like on Zimoun’s website, this section also includes a photograph of the artist’s face and information about his studio space. It is quite interesting how artists often choose to show their working environments. As expected, Jakob also includes a photograph of himself. This relates to the same idea mentioned previously.
The remaining sections include Contact, a login page, and a language selection option. Since this website sells products, it is notable that it includes a login page. The Contact section contains the artist’s email address as well as a form where visitors can submit their name, email, and a short message. From a business perspective, this is a very useful section. It is also a feature that tends to make an artist appear more professional. It gives the impression of saying, “I am someone who also conducts business. Feel free to contact me—for exhibitions or anything else.”
In this way, I have also analyzed Jakob’s website. While it shares many similarities with Zimoun’s website, the differences in detail give it a somewhat less organized impression from my personal perspective. When I eventually create my own website, it would be worthwhile to carefully consider these kinds of details—such as loading time, the number of works displayed on the screen at once, and what aspects should be emphasized or presented. It is also important to consider which parts may be inconvenient for visitors, as well as how sections should be separated according to visitors’ purposes.
For the next website analysis, I will examine an artist working in a somewhat different field. By doing so, I hope to observe how websites differ even within the same artistic sphere depending on the artist’s working methods.