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: The Annual NYCDH Week (From Home)
NYCDH is happy to announce the Annual NYCDH Week, February 7-11, 2022. Taking place at institutions home throughout New York City everywhere (again!), NYCDH Week gives individuals who are interested in digital humanities an opportunity to learn new techniques and skills, hear about DH projects, and become part of a vibrant and diverse community of… Read more
-
New LoC Research Guide: Cartoons and Caricatures
The Library of Congress is pleased to announce the publication of a new guide describing the Prints & Photographs Division’s large and varied collection of cartoon and caricature art. The guide includes two galleries of sample images, one for works by artists who were active predominantly before the 20th century and one for those active… Read more
-
Wright Virtual Visits
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (Chicago, IL) in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (Scottsdale, AZ), Unity Temple Restoration Foundation (Oak Park, IL) and Graycliff (Derby, NY), announces a continuation of the popular social media video series Wright Virtual Visits in 2022, with production support from Forever Ready Productions. Begun in April 2020… Read more
-
DH Monday: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…derivative dataset!
Before she joined LC Labs, Eileen J. Manchester was an English teacher. In her classroom, the word “derivative” had a negative connotation. To be derivative was to be overly indebted to another idea and thus to lack ingenuity and creativity. When applied to datasets, however, “derivatives” abound. In fact, as you’ll see, derivative datasets sometimes… Read more
-
“Mapping Fiction” Exhibition Opens at The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
“Mapping Fiction” is an exhibition The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens focused on the ways authors and mapmakers have built compelling fictional worlds. On view in the Library’s West Hall (Jan. 15–May 22, 2022), the exhibition is timed to coincide with the centennial of the publication of James Joyce’s groundbreaking 1922 modernist novel,… Read more
-
Seven Stories About NFTs Entering the Realm of Architecture
Over the past year, NFTs have entered the realm of architecture, prompting conversations over the role of the profession in the future digital economy. From the design of digital real-estate to exhibitions and architecture events exploring its value for the practice and established architecture firms embracing the new medium, NFTs have been embraced by the… Read more