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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BREAKING NEWS: C. R. Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art on fire
The BBC is reporting that firefighters are battling a fire at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s iconic building Glasgow School of Art. It appears the fire started when a projector exploded in the basement. Everyone in the building was able to evacuate. UPDATES: The Glasgow School of Art has begun inspecting the damage, with good and bad… Read more
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The Morgan Library’s Rembrandt prints now available online
The Morgan Library & Museum announced they have digitized their collection of Rembrandt etchings — almost five hundred images — and have made them available online. The Morgan holds impressions of most of the three hundred or so known etchings by Rembrandt, as well as multiple, often exceedingly rare impressions of various states. Each etching… Read more
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MAK Center’s Schindler House Tour, May 17-18, 2014
The MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Los Angeles, will celebrate its 20th year by offering a tour of a number of exemplary private houses by R.M. Schindler. The programming opens with a wine reception and talk with Judith Sheine (Professor of Architectural History at the University of Oregon) at Schindler’s How House in Silver… Read more
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More on new research practices in art history
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the report on changing research practices in art history, this article in the Wall Street Journal is timely. The president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, James Cuno, is making a strong push for advancing the use of tools such as face recognition, digital mapping, and… Read more
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New report on changing practices in art history research
A study examining changing research practices of art historians was released today. The study, by Ithaka S&R and funded by the Getty and Kress foundations, looks at the impact of “digital art history” and the “interconnected scholarly communities that support art history”. The report also looks at changes to graduate student training in art history.… Read more
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Artsy named Best Art Website
Artsy was named Best Art Website at the 18th Annual Webby Awards. Artsy’s mission is to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and is powered by The Art Genome Project. The New York Times has dubbed the award the “internet’s highest honor.” “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York… Read more