The primary campus resource for image research and use at UC Santa Barbara.
Exploring the dynamic interplay between digital images, emergent digital technologies, and art objects.
MIRL is a research lab in the Department of the History of Art & Architecture at UC Santa Barbara. We study how analogue art objects and the built environment can be imaged, preserved, and re-understood through emerging digital methods — building open tools and treating images themselves as instruments of scholarship.
A digital repository dedicated to documenting, preserving, and amplifying the work of modern and contemporary Native American artists from California — long underrepresented in major art-historical platforms. Built on a post-custodial, consent-driven model where artists retain control over how their work is represented, following Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles. Both a repository and a pedagogical initiative training students in ethical archival methods.
Tools for new three-dimensional ways of seeing objects. Part of our Ways of Seeing work, where computational imaging turns 3D models into analytical instruments for studying an object's form, surface, and structure.
A local-first, human-in-the-loop pipeline for preserving at-risk media with verifiable provenance. A response to media disappearing from conflict zones: it makes tamper-evident copies, secures independent dated backups, records a full chain of custody, and is built to protect the people who provide material.
A no-build documentary photo-map pairing geolocated photographs with per-photo narratives, shown as an interactive Leaflet map and a sequential photo essay. Generalised from MIRL's Lifta project; fork it per project. Plain HTML, CSS, and vanilla JS, deploys free on GitHub Pages. In development.
A digital exploration of Andean recordkeeping systems. We investigate a 16th-century khipu — a knotted-cord recording device — held at UCSB's Art, Design & Architecture Museum through material, haptic, and digital imaging methods, exploring how knowledge is encoded in fiber and form. The site offers interactive stories, a collection of featured cords, and a glossary. khipu.mirl.arthistory.ucsb.edu
We're a collaborative space for UCSB faculty, researchers, and students, offering imaging and digitization support for both 2D and 3D objects.
- Arts Building, Room 1245 · Mon–Thu, 8am–4pm
- Internships: Dr Jeff O'Brien ([email protected])
- Room & equipment booking: Christine Fritsch ([email protected])
- General: [email protected]