Over the course of his career, artist Adam Turman has made a name for himself in the Twin Cities with his unique illustrative style. Perhaps most well-known for his posters of Minneapolis and St. Paul landmarks, Turman got his start making gig posters in the early 2000s, and while he’s since worked for clients large and small on everything from logos to entire branding campaigns, he sees working on murals like the one he did for Minnesota United and Target as a way to connect with his artistic roots.
“I think it’s one of the most selfless projects that I can get because it’s art for the people,” said Turman. “It’s art for the public. And that’s what a true, pure mural is to me. It’s public art that anybody can enjoy at any time they want to. And that’s what’s really appealing to me about doing this kind of work.”
The 12-by-20 foot piece that was on display at the Bullseye Fan Zone presented by Target at TCF Bank Stadium for Wednesday night’s match began as a sketch before being laid out like a giant paint by numbers. Depicting MNUFC mascot PK Loon in a nighttime wilderness setting with both downtowns and both TCF Bank Stadium and Allianz Field in the background, the mural evokes the North’s picturesque beauty.
“We explored this one a little bit,” said Turman. “We had a certain direction that we went with in the very beginning that was really focused on the hardcore fans. But then when we came down to it, we realized that’s not really everything that Minnesota United and Target is about. It’s really about the community as a whole in Minnesota. So we came up with this design here. Kind of showing PK as the hero, and also bringing in the whole idea of Minnesota. Not just the Twin Cities, not just the super fans, but just Minnesota.”
As Turman worked, the mural blossomed into a whole mini-campaign with all kinds of collateral elements from T-shirts to patches.
“We got to do prints, shirts, patches, postcards,” he said. “And we really used what I designed in a whole campaign, a whole brand. And that’s really appealing to me as well. That’s a lot of what I started with. So, this, this brings all of that together as far as I’m concerned.”
As an artist and a professional, Turman seeks to bring all the elements that go into his work — creativity, craft, entrepreneurship, branding — into balance with one another to allow him to dedicate himself wholly to his passion. It makes him an ideal partner for MNUFC and Target as they look to bring more and more people together through the world’s game.
