The Red Dot takes its name from the small sticker that once marked slides in a physical archive, flagging them as worth a second look. We’re keeping that spirit alive here.
At MIRL, we engage with art history, digital humanities, and material culture through hands-on research and archival projects. Guided by our core principles—critical engagement with visual and material culture, ethical stewardship of images and data, and innovative approaches to research and pedagogy—we work at the intersection of technology and the humanities. We are especially interested in how digital tools can expand the study of images, objects, and spaces.
The Red Dot © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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UCSB’s own Corpse Flower ready for her close-up
Chanel is nearly out! Chanel is a Titan Arum, better known as the Corpse Flower due to the rotting meat stench which attracts pollinating insects. These plants originate in Sumatra, Indonesia, and can take up to 10 years to bloom. You can see her progress on this page where the photo is refreshed every five… Read more
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Digital World of Art History 2013: From Theory to Practice
Princeton’s Index of Christian Art, along with the university’s Visual Resources Collection, Department of Art & Archaeology, hosts an annual conference that addresses “high level current methodologies” and offers case studies of public digital archives. These lectures are now available in electronic (pdf) copies and explore topics such as new ways of teaching with images… Read more
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Timeline of Historical Film Colors
Professor Barbara Flueckiger, Institute of Cinema Studies, University of Zurich, has created a database that traces the development of photographic and cinematic use of color. The database, based on her project Film History Re-mastered, provides descriptions, bibliographies and/or illustrations for each chromatic technology (choose “Show detailed information →” to access detail pages). It is worth… Read more
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Another nifty craft using old slide technology
We’ve periodically added links to fun things one can make with old slides, e.g. lampshades or curtains. Here’s something else in the crafty home decor department: mirror frames using painted slide carousels. The Red Dot gang can’t wait to get out the spray paint! Read more
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Farewell to the Red Doors
Well we knew this day would come, but it still doesn’t make it easy. Today, June 12, is the IRC’s last day behind the lovely red doors. The retrofit of the Arts building is complete so we must gather up our belongings and move back. Our stay at Ellison Hall has been wonderful and we’re… Read more
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Kettle mistaken for Hitler
Well, not “mistaken for,” exactly. But a Michael Graves-designed kettle on a JC Penney billboard in Los Angeles bore enough of a resemblance to Hitler (if you squinted) that it suddenly became a hot item and sold out. People are so weird…. And just like that, the listing on JC Penney’s website is gone, as… Read more