Material / Image Research Lab (MIRL)

The Red Dot

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 

  • Viewing the Dead Sea Scrolls in digital detail

    Partners Google and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem have launched a new website to closely examine the Dead Sea Scrolls. Not to panic if you don’t read Hebrew — the site offers English translations of the Great Isaiah Scroll in two ways: either read a dual translation here or click on a specific passage while… Read more

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  • Eames living room moved to LACMA

    The living room from Charles and Ray Eames’ iconic house has been meticulously taken apart and re-assembled at LACMA, as part of the exhibition  California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way”.  The LA Times has a great back story, plus a timelapse video of the disassembling of the living room.  It had remained preserved… Read more

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  • UCSB Dept. of Art colloquium starts this week

    The Department of Art’s Fall colloquium series begins September 27, with a talk by curator and critic Bruce Ferguson. The full schedule with speaker bios is here.  The program is co-sponsored by Art and the College of Creative Studies, and this quarter has been organized by Dick Hebdige. Read more

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  • Smithsonian launches new and improved online archives

    The Smithsonian Institution Archives has introduced The Bigger Picture, their online portal to the records of the history of the Institution. Of the over 17,000 records online so far, roughly 5,400 contain digital media — with more to come. The Smithsonian encourages educational use of these images with proper citation; see the Rights and Reproductions… Read more

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  • Pacific Standard Time – events and a timeline

    Among the LA Times’ coverage of Pacific Standard Time is a timeline of significant events in California that put the 1945-80 period and its artistic output into perspective. The PST’s own website lists events at the 60 participating venues, from Santa Barbara to San Diego.  The $10 million project will run for 6 months. Read more

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  • Save the Date: Museum Day, Saturday, September 24

    Museum Day, an annual event sponsored by Smithsonian magazine, is fast approaching. On Saturday, September 24, hundreds of museums and other cultural venues nationwide open their doors to free admission — request the required ticket, good for the ticket holder and a guest, from the site. Local institutions participating in the event include Casa de… Read more

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