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
-
DH Monday: Digital Art History IV – Methods, Practices, Epistemologies (Zagreb / October 3-4, 2022)
The international conference “Digital Art History – Methods, Practices, Epistemologies” for the fourth time brings together scholars and practitioners from the fields of digital history of art and architecture, visual culture studies, museology, information science, art and design. Focusing on the notion of complexity, forty-four participants from twelve countries (Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia,… Read more
-
DH Monday: Issue #7: Zonas de Contacto: Art History in a Global Network?
Have you checked out the latest English-language issue of International Journal for Digital Art History, no. 7 (2021): Zonas de Contacto: Art History in a Global Network? They collaborated on this project with H-ART. Revista de historia, teoría y crítica de arte to present digital art historical research from the Spanish-speaking world, broadly defined. The issue… Read more
-
DH Monday: Invisible Landscapes: When Digital Tools Fail to Document
An online search away from any computer are eye-level views of many of the world’s cities. This technology is powerful – allowing people to have an in-depth look at the cities they might one day visit, live in, or work in. It’s a useful tool for understanding buildings on a more comprehensive level than photographs.… Read more
-
“Trigger Warning” – A new column examining current issues in/of art censorship
Gareth Harris, the chief contributing editor of The Art Newspaper, has started “Trigger Warning,” a new column on censorship in art today. From must-read books to which algorithms are policing creative content, he will provide valuable insights and context on attacks on freedom of artistic expression and issues. Click here to read the inaugural column. Read more
-
DH Monday: “Extending Museum Space Beyond Physical Space”
The most recent article published in International Journal for Digital Art History, no. 6 (2021): Horizons of Mixed Realities Dario Rodighiero. 2022. “Extending Museum Space Beyond Physical Space: A Data-Driven Study of Aldo Rossi’s Analogous Object as a Mobile Museum Object.” Aldo Rossi composed the famous collage known as Analogous City for the Venice Biennale… Read more
-
SAH Data Project, Architectural History in the United States: Findings and Trends in Higher Education
The Society of Architectural Historians’ Data Project Report is the first national, in-depth study designed to assess the health of the field of architectural history, which includes the history of architecture, landscape design, urbanism, and other fields related to the designed and built environment. The primary data collection tools for this project were three online… Read more