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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Fisk University and Georgia O’Keeffe
We’ve reported in the past here and here (and more recently here) about Brandeis University’s attempts to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its permanent collection to help alleviate the university’s budget problems. Well, another university is in the news for similar actions. Fisk University in Nashville has been trying to sell works from,… Read more
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Library of Images From the Environment
LIFE (Library of Images From the Environment) database contains over 28000 high-resolution images from nature, including views of landscapes, plant and animal examples, as well as broader environmental issues like management and research. Hosted by the National Biological Information Infrastructure and the Center for Biological Informatics, the site is organized by subject (each with extensive… Read more
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MEGA – a new database of Middle Eastern antiquities
After four years of collaboration and hard work, MEGA (Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities) will launch next month. It was designed to inventory archaeological sites so conservators and archaeologists can monitor and preserve them more easily. It was developed at the Getty Conservation Institute, with funding aid from the World Monuments Fund and in partnership… Read more
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Computer art of a different kind
For your Friday fun, check out this slide show on wired.com of recycled computer circuit boards as “circuitry sculpture”. The artist, Theo Kamecke, creates both functional works (like this manuscript chest, left) as well as freestanding and wall pieces. For recent works not on his website, click here. Read more
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Anyone want to buy a Frank Lloyd Wright house? Anyone???
In a sad sign of the times there are two FLW houses on the market in LA, and no takers. Ennis House was extensively renovated and listed last summer for $15 million. A year later the price has dropped to $7.5 million. La Miniatura in Pasadena was listed two years ago for $7.7 million and… Read more
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Zooming in to Daguerreotypes
Wired Magazine has a fascinating article about the conservation of a famous set of daguerreotypes. In 1848 Charles Fontayne and William Porter created a “panorama” (actually eight separate plates) of the Cincinnati waterfront. Because the plates were so big (6.5×8.5″) the detail in each is astonishing. The plates had acquired a lot of dirt and… Read more