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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Rembrandt in Southern California
Rembrandt in Southern California is a virtual exhibition, with printable guide and audio by museum curators, of paintings by the Dutch artist from five regional museums. This area is the third-largest assemblage of Rembrandt paintings in the United States. This show also anticipates Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference, an unprecedented exhibition… Read more
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Getty Center closed today
The Getty Center’s website just announced that the Getty Museum will be closed today, July 9, due to the brush fire and continued closure of the Getty Center off-ramp and Sepulveda Boulevard. They will post updates later in the day regarding reopening. Read more
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Getty Center evacuated due to fire
A brushfire broke out early this afternoon near the Getty Center in Brentwood. It has burned at least 10 acres as of this writing and the Getty buildings have been evacuated, as has Mt. St. Mary’s. They will re-open tomorrow if the fire is fully extinguished. Via the Los Angeles Times at 3:30pm Update at… Read more
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1600-year-old Bible published online
The Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century Christian Bible written in Greek and containing the oldest complete copy of the New Testament, has been published online at codexsinaiticus.org. The book was discovered in 1844 at the Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula. It had been split up among four countries, and The Codex Sinaiticus… Read more
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Most complete topographic map of Earth published
This week NASA and ASTER (Japan’s Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) released a new and more complete digital topographic map of Earth. Best of all, it is available online to users everywhere at no cost. NASA’s press release is here, with links to downloading the ASTER global digital elevation model Read more