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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New structure found at Stonehenge
Archaeologists using radar at Stonehenge have discovered another circular ditch beneath the prehistoric site. This ditch includes regularly-spaced holes that may have held wooden posts and is believed to date from the same period as the stone circle. via Reuters Read more
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Cole African collection LIVE in ARTstor
At long last the collection “Herbert Cole: African Art, Architecture, and Culture (University of California, Santa Barbara)” is live in ARTstor. We first announced this contribution back in December and have been eagerly anticipating the unveiling. Visual Resources Collection staff worked with ARTstor to contribute nearly 1,000 images from “Skip” Cole’s field research in the… Read more
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Artists postpone Rose Art Museum exhibition
Three artists — Bill Viola, April Gornik and Eric Fischl — have “postponed” their September exhibition Atmospheric Conditions at the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University until the school’s administrators sign a legally-binding agreement to preserve the museum’s permanent collection. via The Boston Globe For previous posts on this developing story, click here and here. Note… Read more
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A new look at the Mourners from the Court of Burgundy
They will be coming to a town near you, but in the meantime check out The Mourners Photography Project website, hosted by FRAME (French Regional & American Museum Exchange). The website offers new digital high-resolution, 360° multi-perspective, and stereo 3D (anaglyph glasses required) views of the alabaster sculptures of monks and clerics that surround the… Read more
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Participate in visual literacy competency standards
The ACRL IRIG (Association of College & Research Libraries Image Resources Interest Group) Visual Literacy Standards Task Force is working on Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. To foster discussion about visual literacy, the Task Force has started a blog as a communication tool to provide information about the standards development process and progress… Read more
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Ship found buried at World Trade Center site
Construction workers at the World Trade Center have uncovered the remains of a ship buried in the site’s mud. The vessel, whose hull measures roughly 32 feet, appears to be from the 18th century but archeologists plan to study the ship and an anchor found nearby to determine its age and place of origin. Both… Read more