Rudy Daniels was raised in north Philadelphia, but moved to Erie in the 1990s to be closer to his brother. Since a young age he engaged in gang activity. Three times he suffered stab wounds, to his right shoulder, left back rib cage and torso, until one day at the age of 20, he was shot and lost his sight.
The road to recovery, and redemption was long. Three suicide attempts, drinking problems and low self-steen, until one day, right after his third suicide attempt, he found God. From that moment, he decided to live, fight and become a productive member of society. Since then, the 71 year old man has been a positive and familiar figure on area streets and sidewalks of Erie, the reason why he was chosen.
“I feel good about that mural […] Maybe my story might help somebody, but not to inspire them to do anything wrong and wind up like me. I’m content after 50 years of blindness. I’m here and I try to tell people that I’m sorry.” – Rudy Daniels
The project, curated by Iryna Kanishcheva and organised by Patrick Fischer from Erie Arts & Culture, counted with the participation of local artists assisting with the mural and has made Ruby a local celebrity.
Images courtesy of Bryan Geary and Iryna Kanishcheva.
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
