Original and uninhibited as a jazz melody, he sometimes strikes one with a poignant melancholy in the midst of the most lighthearted and jovial moments. Perhaps it is his gift as a Parisian. Nicolas Kontos, photojournalist and music writer, met me dressed in a vintage 1970s jacket. Himself a composer and ardent lover of jazz, as well as an active theater participant, Kontos has met numerous musical luminaries and portrayed them through his lens. Now working in the field of public relations, Kontos shared with me how he found what he calls "true happiness" through his art.
"Even my mother went to the doctor to get advice on my shyness." That, says Kontos, was how painfully shy and introverted he was as a boy. At his mother's worried recommendation, young Nicolas took up judo, then fencing, then playing the guitar and bass guitar. By the age of 12 he was gradually emerging from his shell. When his father bought him a Konika camera, his life was transformed. This happened just as his interest in music was blossoming; naturally, the musicians of the day became his subjects. "Because they would pat us down at concerts to see if we had any cameras or recorders, I used to hide my camera under my arms or between my legs." Every time he succeeded in smuggling in his camera, Nicolas snapped photos of famous artists. Eventually his photos found their way into the pages of Hard Force Magazine, a French rock-music rag. "One day I realized that the publisher's address was on the same street as my house. Since then my friend and I started visiting the editors on our way home from school. Later they began using the photos I took."
Kontos' passion for music burned brighter. By the age of 17 Kontos was playing music himself, while snapping photos of various artists as a side interest. It was then that young Kontos caught the attention of the editor of Hard Force Magazine. He was offered a job as journalist for the newly launched magazine, Rock Spirits. "At first I was going to say 'no' because I wanted to be a musician on stage, not a journalist behind the stage. But then I gave it a second thought. I decided to take the offer, thinking it might be a great opportunity to learn about the music business and make connections in the industry." To the astonishment of his parents and friends, Kontos left school and plunged into the world of the photojournalist. He traveled the world with camera in hand, reporting on and interviewing countless top-billed musicians. Later, Kontos became an official photographer for Rock Spirits and Hard Force Magazine. "Stevie Wonder was one of the most inspiring musicians I met," he recalls. Kontos remembers closing his eyes, trying to imagine himself inhabiting the world of a blind man. "I closed my eyes and tried to make myself blind like him. My seat wasn't close enough to where he was, but still I could really feel his presence even before he begun talking. He was radiant and amazing just by being there." Many other musicians, notably including Prince and David Bowie, earned Kontos' respect and affection with their aura of charisma. Their music, their art and their various world-views proved an enormous influence on the young photojournalist.
When he had spent seven years on the front lines of photojournalism, Kontos decided to call it quits. Though not dissatisfied with his circumstances, Kontos found the life of a photojournalism to be enormously time-consuming. Little by little, it was crowding out other aspects of his life. He had not yet given up on one still elusive dream. "I still wanted to be one of the musicians in the magazines," he explains, not someone who made magazines about them. So it was that Kontos traveled to New York to study jazz. During this time Kontos developed a degree of emotional attachment to the Big Apple that surprised him. He studied the saxophone, and even after his return to France he continued to benefit from the tutelage of musicians such as Steve Lacy. "Maybe it's freedom," Kontos muses, trying to explain the captivating power of jazz. "Jazz allows you to decide the direction you take, like you can suddenly jump to different chords you can't find through other music. Also jazz is more of a communicative medium."
Alongside photography and music, Kontos studied pantomime and drama, broadening his interests. When a friend was stricken with illness, he took to learning therapeutic techniques. Unable to bear being in the presence of friends in pain and being unable to help them, Kontos took his first steps into the world of Oriental medicine. "It's not to say that I can help them, but I just want to heal or cure the pain of people who I love, even just a little bit." It was a natural progression for Kontos as an artist. After all, he had made a career of building his own road when he had nothing, starting from nothing and creating something lasting and beautiful.
The Nicolas Kontos who from his childhood years nurtured a fondness for judo, Japanese music, and the films of Akira Kurosawa has now been two years in Japan. As with New York, Kontos feels an affinity with the cities of Japan, almost as if he had lived there in a previous life. Taking up a position as public relations manager for Eye Peace, a cosmetics company in Tokyo, Kontos soon became immersed in the hectic task of launching a beauty salon for the company, soon to open in Paris in tandem with a spa. In the company's restaurant operations, Kontos creates fresh projects on an almost daily basis, planning musical events and overseeing language events featuring French and English conversation. At the same time he continues to pursue his passion for music and photography, playing in jazz and pop bands and opening photo exhibitions. His life can be likened to an enormous canvas on which the artist's brush never pauses to rest.
And yet, having quit the world of photojournalism, Kontos felt a curious change within himself. "I used to take pictures to capture the moment or record something important just for myself. I really was taking pictures--I was taking everything for myself. But now I take pictures to share them with people, which is to give, not to take. Like with therapy, I want them to feel better or relaxed looking at my pictures," Kontos reflects. Sometimes, he says, he attends concerts without bringing his camera. "I realized that when I take pictures, I am only focusing on the image, not enjoying the music or what is really happening beyond the viewfinder." Kontos' lifelong dream of becoming a musician had transformed into a desire to learn the real meaning of "giving," including giving to oneself as well as to others. Today, he says, he no longer pursues the title of musician. Instead, his greatest wish is to soothe and help people through art, including music. "It could be any form of art, like music, photos, acting, conversation--even silence, as Stevie Wonder inspired me in his silence and blindness."
"Stay happy and be free." That, says Kontos, is the most important thing in life. Like the free-flowing melodies of jazz, art provides the notes with which Kontos composes his life. It's a wonderful composition with the precious power of bringing happiness to others.
