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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Los Angeles Art Show: January 16-23, 2011
Mark your calendars for the 16th Annual Los Angeles Art Show, January 16-23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. One of this year’s highlights is a never before seen exhibition of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, courtesy of the Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica. There is also a Symposia Series and a Guest Country Program featuring… Read more
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LA MOCA – guilty of censorship?
After commissioning a mural for the football-field-sized wall of MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary building, MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch ordered that the mural be painted over this week. The story contains some interesting facts – a few: a) the decision to cover up the mural was made by Deitch alone (and not based on any complaints); b)… Read more
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Latest ARTstor announcements
The ARTstor Digital Library now contains two collections from The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The first is 1,269 images from the museum’s permanent collection and the second offers 4,896 contextual images documenting the history of the circus in America. In other news, ARTstor announced a future collaboration with UC Santa Barbara alum… Read more
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Colbert Report, Steve Martin, and Art
In honor of finals week, here is a link to the recent Art edition of the Colbert Report. Especially interesting is Colbert’s “Tip of the Hat” to Rep. Eric Cantor (VA) and the censorship of David Wojnarowicz’ video “A Fire in My Belly” at the National Portrait Gallery’s Hide/Seek exhibition. Later in the show Steven… Read more
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Last chance for an audience with a goddess
Patrons visiting the Getty Villa in Malibu have until this Sunday to view the ancient Greek “Cult Statue of a Goddess”. Her trip back to Sicily in January is a piece of a “cultural collaboration” with the Sicilian government to return objects that had been sold to the Getty under questionable circumstances. The Villa’s current… Read more