Kristof with "Self Portrait." Photo by Alice Proujansky. All rights reserved.

The answer, I’ll admit, was not one I was expecting—here’s what Kristof had to say:

There’s a lot I find interesting about pumpkins. Firstly, they’re thought to be native to North America. They are in my mind the classic harvest vegetable, signaling the final period of summer, maturing right before everything else dies. I imagine their volume to weight ratio is similar to that of human body parts. They have a satisfying weight and they’re also anthropomorphic in shape. The stem can appear like an odd phallus and the underside like an anus, not to mention the bulbous stomach or breast-like form of the pumpkin body itself. Whatever it is, there’s a robust fullness to pumpkins that I like. There’s also strong connection to the supernatural and American folklore, which goes back to the Native Americans.