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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Vatican to display late works by Henri Matisse
In an effort to increase visibility of modern and contemporary works of art in their collection, the Vatican Museums is preparing a new room devoted to sacred art by Henri Matisse. The new space will house designs, three large-scale preparatory drawings and numerous objects the artist created in 1948-1951 for a small Dominican chapel (Chappelle… Read more
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California architecture news, north and south
Any thoughts on what Los Angeles could/will look like in 20 years? Newsweek put the question to three architectural firms who came up with 2030 concepts for both LA and New York in a feature called The Future of Work. The three firms that participated were Michael Maltzan Architecture, cityLAB UCLA and Gensler. In other… Read more
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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