On April 5, 1975 at 4 pm at New York City's John Gibson Gallery, the artist and Nouveau Réalisme adherent, Arman performed the action Conscious Vandalism. Having prior transformed the gallery into an apartment, Arman proceeded to destroy the apartment with an axe in front of a live audience. Documentation of this performance is found in the highly scarce black and white photograph of Arman standing in front of the still intact apartment (the title for the show (Action) can be seen on the wall to the right in the photograph), accompanied by the invitation to this action. Throughout April 1975, films, videos, and photographs of the action were on view at the gallery. Arman repeated the performance Conscious Vandalism in 2001 at the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MAMAC) in Nice, France.  

Arman (Armand Fernandez) (1928-2005) was a painter who first created works made from the ink or paint traces of objects ("cachet", "allures d'objet”) and then moved to making paintings composed of actual objects. Arman developed his most recognizable style between the years 1959 to 1962. It centered on his two most renowned concepts: "Accumulation" and "Poubelle" (French for "trash bin"). The accumulations are collections of multiple common and identical objects arranged in polyester castings or within Plexiglas cases and the "Poubelles" are collections of strewn refuse.