In a few days, more than one hundred thousand people will know
the work of photographer Kris Knutson.
Gilroy – In a few days, more than one hundred thousand people will know the work of photographer Kris Knutson.
In April, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association chose Knutson’s poster – featuring a photograph of a fork holding up a garlic bulb, cast in a soft light and almost devoid of color – to be the face of this year’s festival. All three winners of garlic festival poster contest were locals, the first time this has happened since 1992 and possibly only the second time since the contest began in 1985.
The decision to choose 52-year-old Knutson’s work was not difficult, said Karen Scorsur, the retail chairwoman for the festival and a nurse at the surgery department of Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
“Oh my gosh – this is just so obvious,” she said her reaction was at seeing the submitted posters. Knutson’s poster caught her eye because it was “simple, elegant.”
Despite the appearance of simplicity, the poster was the result of months of work, said Knutson. Even choosing the perfect bulb of garlic was a chore as he took the photographs for the poster in December, when garlic was out of season. As a result, he drove around to several stores before finding what he wanted at a roadside stand off U.S. 101.
“I looked for the right one, very clean, very smooth,” he said. “Just the shape is very simple, very classic.”
This perfect bulb of garlic sits near the top of the poster with the fork running straight up the middle. All this is an inset, with the title and dates of the festival all contained by scalloped edges reminiscent of a postage stamp – a deliberate allusion, Knutson said.
Knutson – born in Anchorage, Alaska, and a Gilroy-resident for 10 years – was the contest winner in 2001 and placed second in 2005.
Now full of pride for the city, he was happy to hear all three winners were local.
“That’s cool,” he said. “Nothing worse than somebody coming in from New York City.”
The winner of the 2005 contest was a graphic designer from New York. Most contests have featured winners from outside Gilroy, said Chris Filice, administrative support manager for the festival.
Yet, this year, in addition to all the laurels, all the prize money will be staying in the area. Knutson took home $750, second-place winner Whitney McClelland was awarded $400 and third-place winner Jean Castillo got $200.
While Knutson is worried about how the poster will come out, he has faith that the festival organizers will make it aesthetically pleasing.
“They’re into marketing and into making money for the community, so I’m sure they’re good at it,” he said.
