This distinctive art piece was created in 1997 by artist Stephen Cruise and consists of a thimble, buttons and markings of a tape measure which wraps around the northwest corner of Richmond Street and Spadina Avenue. The work was built to commemorate the surrounding area of the city that was once the textile factory district. With the CF Toronto Eaton Centre still just blocks away, this area once housed a majority of the textile factories that would produce products for the mega-distributor. As textile production moved out of the city, these factory spaces were re-purposed into artist studios. Now, the neighbourhood is transforming again and condo development’s moving into the area.
Uniform, Measure, Stack
Stephen Cruise
b.1949
- Bronze, coloured pre-cast concrete.
- 1997
- Approx 3 m x 3.35 m
- 438 Richmond Street West, Toronto
About the artwork
About the artist
Stephen Cruise was born in Montreal and now lives and works in Willowdale, Ontario.
He was a founding member of a space gallery in Toronto in the early 1970s, and has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally.
His public art commissions include Memoria Address in Fredericton, N.B.; Gathering of a Same Time at Metro Place in Downsview, Toronto; Familia at H.E. Kennedy Memorial Park in Port Credit, Ontario; and Indigena Domain at City Hall in Cambridge, Ontario.
His earlier works include StoneWay at The Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto.
Fun facts
- Street artist Victor Fraser, without permission from the city, added his flare to the piece by painting the tape measure black and yellow and adding numbers. Cruise's work was for quite some years left "damaged" on sight.
Engagement questions
- How does the placement of objects within the work create feelings or communicate the idea about the work?
