Leo Steinberg (b.1920) from Other Criteria pp. 61-98

Richard Serra (b. 1939) from The Yale Lecture

The two texts, in essence, are describing specific changes in two different disciplines of art. When it comes to writing styles, the main difference is that Serra seems much more argumentative when getting his point across, maybe this is because he is mostly talking about himself.

Steinberg discusses the shift in characteristic picture planes that took place in the 1950s. He describes that before this point paintings had a sense of memory, that their image had once been actually seen (even with Cubist paintings). Steinberg states that paintings like this must be vertical, as that is the natural way.

Serra, on the other hand, explains the importance of site-specific sculpture. He first states that modernist sculpture has forgotten the importance of a durable self-sustaining structure. He claims that modern sculptors, for the most part, have ignored the advances in industrial technology, and in doing so have turned a blind eye to reliable manufacture. Serra speaks of the importance of site-specific work, most prominently how a sculpture cannot be created in a studio as the environment it is to be placed is of the upmost importance, and could impact on the work heavily.

The two texts speak of new mindsets when approaching age-old disciplines, in this way they are very similar. They could also be viewed as similar as we could swap the message of each with the discipline of each; making painting site-specific and sculpture not on the floor but on a wall. This just shows that the two texts, and disciplines, are very alike and could be easily integrated together.