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
-
Ruscha: ‘Roosha’ or ‘Rooshay’?
Ever wonder how to pronounce Delacroix properly? Or Ingres, or Klee, or Beuys? Mispronunciation can be embarrassing, and can lead to stress, sleeplessness, skin disorders and insanity (no, not really). So ArtSpace has published some helpful starter lists of pronunciations – study hard before your next art history class, museum trip or cocktail… Read more
-
A new Europeana app
We’ve mentioned Europeana before on the Red Dot but it’s certainly worth mentioning again – it’s a site that brings together digital content (all media!) from all aspects of European culture: museums, archives, libraries, and historic sites. They’ve launched an app called the Europeana Open Culture app (download it here), which showcases some of their… Read more
-
Building Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in a minute
Antoni Gaudí, who began Barcelona’s cathedral of Sagrada Família in the 1880s and spent the rest of his life increasingly invested in its completion, was unable to see it happen in his lifetime. Indeed, the project continues to this day and is projected to be finished by 2026 (the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s untimely death). However,… Read more
-
Creative Hallowe’en costumes
As we get closer to Hallowe’en we thought these artwork-inspired costumes would be inspiration for all of you. If you do make something super creative this year, please send Red Dot a photo. Roy Lichtenstein is especially popular – lots of work, but the results are worth it. Read more
-
LA’s Modernist homes vs. McMansions
Andrew Romano’s Daily Beast essay Trading Modernist for McMansion addresses the issue that a “certain kind of modernist property—namely, a lesser-known house situated on a prime lot in an expensive neighborhood—is still at risk” in Los Angeles neighborhoods like Beverly Hills and Bel Air. Read more