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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Five Cutting-Edge Innovations in Art History Tech
The Iris, the behind the scenes blog from The Getty, posted highlights from the recent SIGGRAPH Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Los Angeles that they found relevant to the future of museums. They found, among the rigging demos and VR experiences, “real opportunities for advancements in programming and outreach for galleries, libraries,… Read more
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Update on UCSB access to Kanopy film streaming service
Because of the overwhelming popularity of the film streaming service Kanopy but a limited budget for film licenses, the UCSB Library is changing the way the UCSB community will be able to use the service. Now films will be available for unlimited UCSB viewing only until the film’s fixed license expiration date, which can be… Read more
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Library of Congress Archive adds born-digital content
The Library of Congress has added two new born-digital collections to their archives. The Webcomics Web Archive focuses on comics created specifically for the web and supplements the Library’s extensive holdings in comic books, graphic novels and original comic art. It has award-winning comics as well as webcomics that are significant for their longevity, reputation… Read more
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ARCHIPORN: A Guide to World Architecture
Developed in 2008 and with an eye-catching name, ARCHIPORN is a world architecture guide created by architects to identify, gather and share information about architectural works around the world by both renowned and emerging architects. The online guide is a world map covered in clickable colored squares, each identifying the work’s location and date (colored… Read more
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Rodolfo Lanciani Digital Archive: Images of Rome
Archaeologist, professor of topography, and secretary of the Archaeological Commission Rodolfo Lanciani (1845–1929) was a pioneer in the systematic, modern study of the city of Rome. His personal collection included his notes and manuscripts as well as a large collection of historic and contemporary images of the city. The physical Lanciani Archive housed in Rome… Read more
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Picturing Places from the British Museum
Picturing Places explores the role and history of topographical views, maps and texts through over 500 examples from the British Library’s collections and beyond, with fresh research in over 100 articles and films from an academic conference hosted by the British Library and Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The site highlights a… Read more