Open Passport – John Max
Photographic book by Canadian John Max [Porchawka] (1936–2011), from Montréal (CV). Published as a special double issue (No. 6 and No. 7) of the Toronto magazine Impressions (now C Magazine). 100 pages, 28.5×22 cm.
168 halftone reproductions (250 lpi) of 161 photographs coming from 159 different 35mm negatives. Edited by Shin Sugino and John B. Pendergrast. Book design by Shin and Hiro Sugino. Printed by Herzig Somerville (Toronto).
A major work of Canadian photography, Open Passport is a long narrative sequence that combines photographs made in a variety of contexts by John Max between 1960 and 1972, and tells the story of an artist confronting the dilemma between the pursuit of art and family responsibilities.
It was first put together as an exhibition with slide show sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada, which opened in Ottawa on 5 October 1972, and traveled across Canada until August 1976. The book was reviewed in the New York Times by critic A.D. Coleman on 11 August 1974.
A full set of exhibition prints (16×20 in) was acquired by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in 2003, now the Canadian Institute of Photography at the National Gallery of Canada.
