Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a Locator sculpture on a historic university campus

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a Locator sculpture on a historic university campus

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a Locator sculpture on a historic university campus

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

a Locator sculpture on a historic university campus

Nancy Holt, Avignon Locators (2012)

Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; diameter 45 ft. (13.72 m)

© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

1984—2014

Avignon Locators

Nancy Holt
2012
Avignon, France
Eight stainless steel pipes, concrete foundations
Circle of Locators: diam. 40 ft. (12.2 m); Locators: height 60 in. (152 cm); length 12 in. (31 cm); diameter 2 in. (5 cm) each
Collection University of Avignon, France
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York

Located on the campus of the University of Avignon in France, Nancy Holt’s Avignon Locators was dedicated on June 14, 2012. It comprises eight T-shaped stainless steel viewfinders, each 5 feet tall, which she called Locators, arranged in a 45-foot-diameter circle. Working with Laurence Belingard and Serge Paul for four years, Holt developed the sculpture, referring to the earlier site responsive Missoula Ranch Locators: Vision Encompassed  (1972). The Locators are set to true north and can be looked through from both directions—toward each other and toward the surrounding landscape. The horizon is hidden by trees and buildings, and through the west Locator the sun can be seen setting within the circle on days around the equinoxes.

Related Info

1970—1972
film still showing an outdoor Locator work
Missoula Ranch Locators
Nancy Holt
1972
1970—1972

Upon completing Missoula Ranch Locators: Vision Encompassed in 1972, Nancy Holt created the 16 mm film Missoula Ranch Locators, which she first exhibited in her solo exhibition at the University of Montana Art Gallery. Eight Locators, T-shaped structures made from galvanized steel, are arranged in a circular formation and aligned with the compass directions.

1970—1972
a circular view of the Montana landscape
Missoula Ranch Locators: Vision Encompassed
Nancy Holt
1972
1970—1972

"Missoula Ranch Locators: Vision Encompassed" (1972) by Nancy Holt is a site-responsive sculpture created on ranchland near Missoula,  Montana. Eight Locators, T-shaped structures made from galvanized steel, were arranged in a circular formation and aligned with the compass directions outdoors, developing from experiments Holt conducted in her studio the previous year.

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