In 1972, Nancy Holt made East-West Locators for a group exhibition titled Five Artists at the John Weber Gallery in New York City. A pair of Locators sit on the east–west axis near the windows of the exhibition space, each framing a view through a window to the exterior. The exhibition also included Tour of the John Weber Gallery, an audio work that describes East-West Locators.

In this 1972 drawing, Nancy Holt develops an idea for an outdoor Locator work for a site she referred to as the “Village Triangle,” at the intersection of West 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue in New York City. She indicates that the three Locators are made of two-inch galvanized steel pipe and should be installed 40 feet apart, set in concrete in the ground. This site-specific sculpture remains unrealized.