Named after the small red sticker that once guided scholars through legacy 35mm slides, The Red Dot is here to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of visual and material research. While rooted in the University of California, Santa Barbara community, our posts are open to all.
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.
Here, we’ll share insights on Digital Art History and Architectural History, highlight new image and data resources, discuss copyright and ethical considerations, and spotlight events that shape our field.
The Red Dot © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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Faculty publication #1: Making History, by Sylvester Ogbechie
Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, Professor of Classical to Contemporary African Art here at UCSB, has just released Making History: African Collectors and the Canon of African Art, which explores the under-studied area of African-owned collections of African art. The image plates are stunning, plentiful, and of the highest quality. The volume is available in English and… Read more
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British Library launches online resource for historical newspapers
“Murder, mania and a leech-powered weather machine.” The British Library, in conjunction with online publisher brightsolid, has launched the British Newspaper Archive. This new and continually expanding online resource for perusing headlines, bylines and story lines from the past three centuries is now searchable for free. Users must pay, however, for complete access and printing… Read more
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Fisk University and the Stieglitz Collection: The ruling, appealed
UPDATE: Over a year ago we reported that Fisk University wanted to sell a half share of their Alfred Stieglitz Collection to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AK to raise general operational money. While contested by Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr., the University was allowed to proceed but was told it… Read more
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USC engineer heads team to save Leonardo’s Last Supper
An engineering professor from the University of Southern California has lead a multinational group charged with saving Leonardo’s iconic fresco The Last Supper. One problem maintaining the fresco is the way it was painted: directly on a dry wall, which caused it to begin deteriorating almost immediately. Subsequent restorations haven’t helped the matter. However, the… Read more
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The art of pepper spraying (cop)
It seems the pepper-spraying incident at UC-Davis last Friday has brought out the creative side of some people. The Tumblr page PEPPER SPRAYING COP offers readers a place to upload images where “peace officer” Lt. John Pike has been spotted in works of art, film, and popular culture. Note that much of the accompanying text can… Read more