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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Annenberg Space for Photography now open
Red Dot visited the new Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City on the weekend and found it an interesting experience on many levels. The physical space is fresh, and rethinks the way photography can be exhibited and viewed. The current show on eleven Los Angeles-based photographers covers a wide array of content, style, technique,… Read more
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Kimbell Art Museum acquires Michelangelo painting
The museum, located in Fort Worth, announced on 13 May that it has purchased what is believed to be not only the earliest painting executed by the artist, but also the first to belong to an American collection. via Kimbell Art Museum website. Read more
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A full-figured find
A six-centimeter ivory figurine of a woman, found in a cave in southwestern Germany and dubbed the Venus of Hohle Fels, is dated to 35,000 BCE and considered “one of the oldest known examples of figurative art” in the world. Article via New York Times. Or, if you want a less dignified headline, try Huffington… Read more
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Free and easy image editing tools
This Sitepoint article is a very helpful review of 19 image editing tools. Most are free, some have a very modest fee. They allow you to do simple image edits such as resizing, sharpening, adding text, and brightening. Try them out, and send in your feedback. Read more