The article discusses the importance of the use of the body, especially the artists own body as a subject in video art of the 1970's, in terms of acting as a catalyst for a brand new method of developing self-concept by way of its unmediated and immediate nature. The author establishes both the technological context from which this tendency arose, and the cross-cultural social circumstances which influenced the process. The author makes references to works by Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, Chris Burden, Dan Graham and Ira Schneider to illustrate his points.