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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LACMA website now offers downloadable images
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has retooled their online collection to include nearly 20,000 high-resolution images of artworks it “believes to be in the public domain”. Those images known to be otherwise protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights must be requested. For more information on using of LACMA’s digital images, consult… Read more
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NYT Review of The Artful Recluse
Previously at The Santa Barbara Museum of Art and currently at the Asia Society and Museum in New York, The Artful Recluse showcases almost 60 paintings from an era of unrivaled historical drama and artistic achievement in China that spans from the late Ming (ca. 1600–1644) and the early Qing dynasties (1644–ca.1700). The show, co-curated… Read more
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LACMA offers to absorb MOCA
The LA Times reports that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has put in an offer to take over both branches of the financially-struggling Museum of Contemporary Art. The offer letter, from LACMA Director Michael Govan and the two board co-chairs, was dated February 24 and in response to MOCA’s initial request for a… Read more
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In case you miss 35mm slides and projectors
you can now (sort of ) replicate the experience of slides, carousels and projectors – AND carry it in your pocket. There’s a daft new product called Projecteo! that projects Instagram photos (which have been transferred to a film reel). Get in on the ground floor of investment with this amazing technology now! (This itty… Read more
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The Public Domain Review
Ever wonder how you can efficiently find texts and visual media in the public domain? One helpful source is The Public Domain Review, a project of the Open Knowledge Foundation “dedicated to showcasing the most interesting and unusual out-of-copyright works available online.” Browse the site’s articles or collections by media type and sign up to… Read more
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Celebrating the Armory Show centenary
The International Exhibition of Modern Art was held at the 69th Infantry Regiment Armory in New York between February 17 – March 15, 1913 and made a deep and wide impact on American art and its viewing public. Some interesting websites on the exhibition’s 100th anniversary include: 1913 Armory Show: the Story in Primary Sources:… Read more