Sapeur – One Step Beyond had the pleasure to talk with the streetart Crew Kamp Seedorf from Almere / Amsterdam. KS create with their artworks small art oasis in the concrete jungle.
1) Hello Kamp Seedorf. Thank you very much for the opportunity to do an interview with you. Please introduce yourself to our reader and what are you doing?
We are Kamp Seedorf. A crew from the cities of Almere and Amsterdam doing street art. We create football-related pieces and other crazy stuff. All things we do is „published“ on the streets. Its all for fun, we don’t have a clue.
2) We guess one of the most asked question is “what does your name mean and how did you get it”?
Clarence Seedorf is a Hero. He is from our hometown Almere and one of us was even in kindergartenschool with him. Kamp Seedorf was also an army base in Germany. We think it is a cool name, which represents our city and our mentality. Sadly enough Clarence Seedorf always clashed with the Dutch team and was booed by Dutch fans for a long time. He is misunderstood. Just like our hometown Almere. People don’t get Seedorf and Almere, or “Ally” as used to say.
3) How did you evolve as an artist and what are your roots/background? Do you were part of the graffitiscene (Stylewriting)?
We only used to be a minor part of the graffiti scene and all KS-ers have different backgrounds. The things we have in common is that all of us are down with football, graffiti, André Hazes, art, Hip-hop music and beer drinking to the fullest.
4) As we visited the last time Amsterdam we see a few of your art in the streets. Really amazing artworks. You are gluing foils, is this correct? Why did you choose this illustration and how do you produce them?
Every piece we do is hand painted on paper with indian ink (the deepest black you can get) and acrylic paint. Afterwards we cut out the works and paste them on the wall with glue. The glue is mixed with some water glass to make it water-resistant.
5) Regarding reasons everybody knows….a..ca..b…we don´t want to know the exact details. But how many members has Kamp Seedorf and how are you organized?
Some come and some go, but mostly we are with about 6-10 members (but it takes a nation of millions to hold us back!)
6) Do you gluing your illustrations only in the night when all the people staying at home or is it no penal problem in the Netherlands? In Germany it´s often „only“ a minor breach of the law and the monetary fine is low.
Mostly we do our pieces by day, cause we’re not out to destroy property, we are only adding some stuff. We come in peace and most people like what we do.
7) Is the place for your art important, for example the ideal surroundings which is highly frequented by the people?
Yes, the place is important in different ways. Sometimes we choose a location that has frequently people, bikes or cars passing by. Other times we choose a location where we can take a great photo. Nowadays a good picture can be seen by the whole world on internet.
8) When was the first time you took notice that your kind of art is loved by the people and the media reported about your illustrations?
One of our first pieces was a creation of former Ajax goalkeeper Stanley Menzo at the Wibautstreet in Amsterdam. You have to know that the Wibautstreet is often called the most ugliest street of Amsterdam, so Stanley was really getting attention in his bright yellow shirt. Our website exploded with views and nice reactions, even from non Ajax fans. For us that was really the big trigger. It inspired us to do more. After that Menzo piece the media picked us up immediately, probably because it is somewhat different then the usual stuff.
9) There is a main focus on your art for football. As we can see you have a passion for the club Ajax Amsterdam. Do you visit the games in the Arena and are your involved in the scene on the terraces (Ultras Vak410)?
All of us have season tickets for years. We have friends standing at Vak410, so sometimes you will find us there, but we are not involved with the Ultrascene. By the way, we do have a good relation with the shirtlabel FootballCulture, who released some work of us on their shirts.
10) Furthermore you´re using foils of player like Eusebio, Higuita, Maradona, Kluivert and many more. How do you decide which player do you choose?
The most important is that WE like the player. We really like eccentric figures with crazy haircuts, sick away shirts or a nonconformist behaviour. When a player can make us happy or smile, he will get our attention.
11) Did you ever made an illustration of a player of an other dutch team and how was the heated debate?
Hahahaha hard question. We never did before and we have a lot of intense discussions about that. Some of us are to fanatical to do players of other clubs, while others really one to do some. Problem not solved yet…
12) One of your projects called „The Streets“ on which you re-named the local streets on your own Gusto. How did the people react as they saw the name street names?
We don’t exactly rename the streets, we just name them. We make wooden plates and paint them. Then we place them on walls with strong kit glue. A lot of times people don’t even notice them because they look really real.
Almost all our plates end up getting stolen or removed. But that is no problem, we love interaction with our viewers ;-).
13) Do you put on your artworks international, mabye in Germany?
A few weeks ago we visited Berlin and did some pieces there. We definitely want to do more international visits, but our time is short.
14) Recently started your „Edding-Invasion“ where the world famous marker were presented massive in different styles in the public zone. What story is behind „Edding-Invasion“ and why did you choose this German marker?
The Edding has been our symbol from the beginning. Why? Because the first permanent marker we ever held was an Edding (from the office of my dad). The smell, the covering, it’s just a great feeling of perfection when you drawing with it. The symbol is a big tribute to the craftsmanship of the Edding marker. We hope maybe one day we can some job for Edding. More Edding wild styles coming up!
15) What is your personally thinking about „Guerilla Marketing“ which was used for example by Converse, Nike, etc with stencils or wild placard posters?
If it looks nice, it looks nice… Doesn’t matter if its so-called “real” street art or commercial art. We don’t hate. But they better ask us instead of biting us.
16) What was your biggest medial success or do you don´t care about the „famous 15 minutes“? Or asked differently, what would you like to read about „Kamp Seedorf“?
Off course we care about these things! We want to be seen, that is one reason why we do this stuff! We are always proud when we are mentioned or published somewhere but we are really waiting for a Hollywood movie.
17) How is the relationship of Kamp Seedorf to Amsterdam Graffitiscene? Were there any tradtionally tensions between Writer and Streetart Artists?
We are following the graff scene for years, but we have no real relation. We do our thing and we respect every form of street art, especially graffiti. Maybe we are a bit loners in every scene, we want to do our own thing without rules and restrictions.
Finally: As we know your faible for excentric football players of the eighties (especially with weird haircuts) we want to advise to check the portaits of former players of our club Eintracht Frankfurt Ralf Weber and Ralf Falkenmeyer in the search engine.
Hahaha, we just did! And yes, you get exactly what we like! Thank you for the tip. Next time when we are in Frankfurt…
Complete me:
Ajax Amsterdam is…
Lifetime Love. Really there are days we hate Ajax, but after some days or weeks hating her we always come back. She gives a lot of inspiration.
Frikandel or Döner Kebab…
Difficult one, we love the whole snack culture. But if we are in Germany we prefer bratwurst with mustard. But if we really have to choose… Frikandel Speciaal met curry en uitjes! Or a so called “Broodje Bal”.
Nike oder adidas…
This question is for sale ;-))))
Graffiti / Street art has to be legalized because…
No, there is no need for legalizing. Just do what you wanna do. A certain kind of tension gives you adrenaline and brings better art. Just take your own artistic freedom. No hate for artists who leave the streets by the way… Just remember where you’re coming from and come back now and then.
Our favourite Kamp Seedorf artwork is…
The Mega Edding (9 meters long) and our new Clarence Seedorf piece (5.10 mtrs high).
Big thanks to Clyde and the KS-er for honest, open words and the friendly personal correspondence. Please contact us if you should make a visit in Frankfurt.
Kamp Seedorf |semi-permanent
