“Kendall Messick’s Corapeake is one of the best portraits of American small town life I’ve seen in years. Focusing on the now elderly, African-American townspeople of Corapeake, North Carolina and their treasure trove of memories, it’s a human chronicle of great sympathy, warmth and insight, photographed and edited with seemingly effortless artistry.”

Michael WilmingtonChicago Tribune

“Bold color photographs.... together with the works on paper that Brinckle created over the course of his long life, are gathered in Messick’s magical book and film.”

Elisabeth BiondiNew Yorker

“Magical…. A total Wizard of Oz transformation.”

Claire O’NeillNPR

“[The Projectionist] captures cinema’s abilities to yoke people together…. a personalized, almost otherworldly dreamscape…”

Sam PriceThe Big Picture Magazine

“The strength of Impermanence is its emotional honesty, and being physically confronted by the scarred house makes following its transformation – and the transformation of Messick himself – all the more powerful…. This is not a show about peeling paint, or the aesthetics of ruin. This is a show about healing.”

Irene BorngraeberJersey City Independent

“Kendall Messick’s [The Projectionist] series serves as a metaphor for the confinements of old age and the deliverance offered by imagination.”

Jessica DawsonWashington Post

“Messick’s skill as a portraitist lies in his willingness to meld fact and fantasy. These photos exist in a realm between reality and imagination, where staged poses and theatrical color intensify authenticity rather than undermine it.”

Cara OberARTnews

“Messick's [Projectionist] installation succeeds in creating a portrait of eccentricity, obsession and aging that is both poignant and inspiring. His brightly colored photographs of Mr. Brinckle posing in his basement theater convey the suburban creepiness of a David Lynch movie, while his black-and-white images provide an unflinching look at old age.”

Deborah K. DietschWashington Times