I love the first section of this newsletter, which feels on point for every creative endeavor. The greatest in any field see and seek truth rather than try to emulate others (in writing, music...science, etc). It is absolutely “hard work to see what’s really in front of us.”
Hey Roger! Unfortunately, we've been hunting for the Truth Ruth air date ourselves for over a year now. We know it ran on The Electric Company because it's been confirmed by reliable sources, but no luck yet on the exact date (whereas we've been able to confirm David's Cool Pool Fool and True Blue Sue shorts as 1971).
This issue resonated with me *so* much. I loved how drew a clear distinction between "real" and e.g., "photorealistic" in discussing David's work. For me, learning what is true, and learning how to express that honestly and clearly, is a constantly moving goalpost. But when an artist can, or even when they can come close, it's so magical—for everyone involved. It's what's I think is so devastating and wonderful about making something.
Coleen -- what an awesome, thoughtful comment! It makes all the difference to know that the issue is resonating like that. This was one of the most frustrating pieces we've ever done for Animation Obsessive (between technical problems and other stuff), followed by a pretty serious power surge today, but this is a pick-me-up. What you wrote about the magic of truthfulness is dead on. Thank you!
I love the first section of this newsletter, which feels on point for every creative endeavor. The greatest in any field see and seek truth rather than try to emulate others (in writing, music...science, etc). It is absolutely “hard work to see what’s really in front of us.”
Thank you so much, Judith! That means a lot. (Also, your newsletter looks great -- we just signed up!)
[swoons in doodle] xoxo
I’m trying to track down the air date for Tissa David short “Truth Ruth” shown on the Electric Company.
Episode guides are practically nonexistent online. Any ideas??
Hey Roger! Unfortunately, we've been hunting for the Truth Ruth air date ourselves for over a year now. We know it ran on The Electric Company because it's been confirmed by reliable sources, but no luck yet on the exact date (whereas we've been able to confirm David's Cool Pool Fool and True Blue Sue shorts as 1971).
Right now, the best we've got is proof that the short existed by 1975, when it appeared at a MOMA show. So, that's a four-year window from the start of The Electric Company to then: https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/5314/releases/MOMA_1975_0099_81.pdf
If you're ever able pinpoint the date closer than that, please let us know!
Wow! I would've never guessed this was a big mystery at all.
I'm also gonna assume TEC DVDs probably don't include this clip.
Sesame St has So much background info that's easily found but so little for TEC.
Absolutely -- it's so strange. Surely there's some kind of internal document at CTW that has these details. Maybe we'll get to see it one day.
You've already long ago tried contacting the people at PBS about it?
Actually, we haven't tried that yet! Maybe it's worth a shot?
Absolutely! There HAS to be an archival dept.
This issue resonated with me *so* much. I loved how drew a clear distinction between "real" and e.g., "photorealistic" in discussing David's work. For me, learning what is true, and learning how to express that honestly and clearly, is a constantly moving goalpost. But when an artist can, or even when they can come close, it's so magical—for everyone involved. It's what's I think is so devastating and wonderful about making something.
Coleen -- what an awesome, thoughtful comment! It makes all the difference to know that the issue is resonating like that. This was one of the most frustrating pieces we've ever done for Animation Obsessive (between technical problems and other stuff), followed by a pretty serious power surge today, but this is a pick-me-up. What you wrote about the magic of truthfulness is dead on. Thank you!