Performance Piece (detail, Photo by Harmon Outlaw) 1977

This black and white photograph, *Performance Piece* (detail, Photo by Harmon Outlaw) by Senga Nengudi, is a documentation of the artist's performance in 1977. Nengudi is known for using her body in her work, and this performance is a good example of her exploration of the female body in performance art. In this work, Nengudi appears to be contorted and bound by a series of ropes, which are held taut against a white wall. This piece, through its subject matter and use of photography, tackles the complexities of the Black female body and the historical and social constraints placed upon it.