From a subversive underground art movement, street art has grown in recent years forming a ubiquitous presence on the streets . The importance of graffiti and street art to modern art is increasingly acknowledged and the art form has, deservedly, secured its position in galleries and the collections of prominent museums.
Amsterdam has always been a unique place in the world of graffiti and street art. The city provided a grateful canvas for local artists and soon became popular among foreign street artists as well. Many of them found the space they needed to further develop their art on the walls of squatted and empty buildings, in the quiet streets and secluded areas.
Subsequent urban redevelopment projects wiped out much of the graffiti, but in 'Amsterdam street art' Kees Kamper managed to photographically immortalize 17 years of street art. The book is an anthology, with almost 900 photos of the work of more than 500 street artists. Each piece is carefully plucked by Kees from the cityscape.