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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Reimagining the Museum Tour
An article in today’s New York Times looks at how companies like Museum Hack are presenting the museum experience in new (and sometimes irreverent) ways. Lead by informed and lively guides (many are performers), Museum Hack offers tours in New York, LA, Chicago, and a growing number of other major US cities. Offerings such as… Read more
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Making LOC Public Domain and Rights-Clear Content Easier to Find
When the Library of Congress redesigned the Library’s home page in late 2016 they began featuring free-to-use sets at the bottom of the page. Each set displayed on the home page is now available from the Free to Use and Reuse page. The Library believes that this content is either in the public domain, a… Read more
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Who owns 3D scans of archaeological sites?
There was an interesting piece on NPR this week about high-resolution images, panoramas and 3D scans of archaeological sites. This type of capture is very useful for all sites, but has been particularly invaluable for sites which have been destroyed in recent years. In addition to viewing a structure that may no longer exist, they… Read more
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One-minute art history
A beautiful feat of animation by artist and educator Cao Shu, One-minute art history incorporates an astonishing range of styles in this short narrative. Read more
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Expansion of Artstor’s collections and services
You may have seen some changes to the look and functionality of Artstor in recent months. They have moved to a more robust platform and unveiled a new interface. Among the many improvements is the access to information for any image or media file – no more pop-ups! You can also easily access Commons (open… Read more
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Thank you for everything, Linda Nochlin
Feminist art historian Linda Nochlin died on the weekend. There’s a lengthy obituary in Art News. And you may want to read this illustrated guide to her 1971 essay, “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Or view this video of her 2009 lecture at the Smithsonian, “Consider the Difference: American Women Artists.” Read more