Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Bill Jacobsen Studio, New York
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Bill Jacobsen Studio, New York
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt, Dia:Chelsea, New York, 2018
Photograph: Don Stahl
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Seeing in the Round, The Art Istitute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 2024
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Jonathan Mathias
Image courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt / Inside Outside, Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden, 2022
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Mikael Lundgren
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt / Inside Outside, Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden, 2022
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Mikael Lundgren
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt / Inside Outside, Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden, 2022
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Mikael Lundgren
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt / Inside Outside, Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden, 2022
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Mikael Lundgren
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators [detail] (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Installation view: Nancy Holt: Locators, Parafin, London, 2015
Steel pipe, black paint, mirror
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive)
Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Photograph: Peter Mallet
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Nancy Holt, Dual Locators (1972)
Overall dimensions variable (site responsive); Locators: 60 x 12 x 2 in. (152 x 31 x 5 cm) each; mirror: 8 in. (20 cm) diameter
Installation view “All Light. Light and Space Yesterday and Today,” Kunsthalle Bielefeld 2025, Photo: Philipp Ottendörfer
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Luca Girardini
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Natalie Rae Good
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Natalie Rae Good
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Natalie Rae Good
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Installation view of Nancy Holt: Circles of Light
Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Photograph: Natalie Rae Good
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Untitled drawing for Dual Locators (1972)
Photocopy made by the artist
9 1/8 x 23 3/4 in. (23.2 x 60.3 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
Nancy Holt, Untitled drawing for Dual Locators (1972)
Photocopy made by the artist
9 1/8 x 23 3/4 in. (23.2 x 60.3 cm)
© Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York
In 1971, Nancy Holt created the first of her Locators, sculptural “seeing devices” that draw attention to visual perception and place. The Locators developed from Holt’s interest in the circularity of photography. They are simple constructions made from industrial pipes welded into a T-shape, designed to be looked through with one eye. Holt’s first Locators looked out the windows of her West Village loft, directing the viewer’s gaze toward details of the built environment, such as a cracked window or an exhaust pipe.
The following year, Holt expanded the visual language of the Locators through what she called “Loci,” painted circles and ellipses that resolve into perfect black circles, edged with a ring of light, when viewed through the Locators. She was interested in drawing attention to the processes, rather than the subject, of seeing. Dual Locators was made in 1972 and was first installed at the University of Montana Art Gallery in Missoula, Montana. It is a sculpture intended to be looked through in two directions: toward a mirror mounted on one wall and toward a black circle, the Locus, painted on the opposite wall. When one looks toward the mirror, one sees oneself looking.
The Locator pieces existed to be looked through. Not that I didn't think about how they looked—I tried different diameters and lengths and heights until I arrived at what was the best visually. Even if you weren't looking through them, when you looked at them, they immediately signaled sight.
Nancy Holt
Meyer, James. "Interview with Nancy Holt." In Sightlines, edited by Alena J. Williams, 226. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
Holt’s Locators articulate several of her key concepts. Composed of a horizontal steel pipe mounted at eye level, the Locators function as lensless telescopes, directing and concentrating vision rather than magnifying it. Locator (PS1) was first shown at PS1 (now known as MoMA PS1), a former school building in Long Island City, New York in 1980.
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.
