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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Tropy: Research photo management software
Tropy is a freely licensed and open-source software tool that allows researchers to collect and organize the digital photographs that they take in their research, add information to those photos individually or in bulk, using customizable templates, and export both photographs and associated information to other platforms. Tailor-made for researchers, Tropy also makes it possible… Read more
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NEW! Digital Humanities Monday: An introduction to Wired! Lab: The DH Bibliography
Welcome to Digital Humanities Monday! This will be the first of many Mondays that The Red Dot will devote to Digital Art History and DH in general. Please follow us, pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested, and send us any sites, programs, projects, and/or information related to DH to vrc.ucsb@gmail.com… Read more
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Can’t get to Fallingwater? Experience it in 3D
[vimeo 802540 w=640 h=360] Cristóbal Vila and his 3D-computer-rendered fly-over show the environment, structure, and design of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. There is no substitution for experiencing the iconic house situated in its natural landscape, but if you can’t get to rural Pennsylvania it’s a close second. Read more at Triblive; to know more about… Read more
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ArchDaily’s Sustainability Glossary: A-B-C
Since architects and designers [and architectural historians!] carry a responsibility of building a substantial future, ArchDaily has put together an A-Z list of every sustainability term that you might come across. Every week, a new set of letters will be published, helping you stay well-rounded on everything related to sustainable architecture and design. Here are… Read more
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Caltrans covers Judy Baca’s mural “Hitting the Wall”
SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center) in LA announces “….Judy Baca’s iconic freeway mural, ‘Hitting the Wall’ has been completely whitewashed by Caltrans. This mural was painted in 1984 to commemorate the strength of women who prevailed over Olympic restrictions and were able to participate in their first Olympics marathon that year. The mural… Read more
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Renaissance Polychrome Sculpture in Tuscany
Renaissance Polychrome Sculpture in Tuscany is an online open-access database of photographs of and information about over 350 objects, produced by Una D’Elia, Heather Merla, and Rachel Boyd. High-resolution photographs are freely available for research, teaching, and publication. Clicking on “show full item record” reveals further information and bibliography. The database also includes an integrated… Read more