Artist Scott Burdick has posted a four-part video presentation of the impassioned editorial speech he delivered to attendees of the Weekend with the Masters Conference recently held in California. In his speech titled "The Banishment of Beauty," Burdick discusses the role of beauty in realist art, and why the so-called "progressive" Modern art movement eschews creating aesthetically pleasing works - and why the latter type of art is favored by curators, collectors, and critics. Though at times Burdick allows his frustration with the current circumstances in the art world to come to the forefront, and despite the criticism he has received