Armand Pierre Fernandez, better known as Arman, was born in Nice in 1928. His father owned an antique shop, where Arman early on discovered his passion and fascination for everyday and curious objects. Arman began a traditional art education at the art school in Nice but dropped out after just three years, finding the education too conservative. Instead, he sought inspiration from contemporary artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, and Kurt Schwitters, and began painting abstract motifs. Around 1960, Arman was involved in forming the artist group "Nouveaux Réalistes" alongside César, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, and Yves Klein, and found his own niche and the expression we have come to associate him with today. He began experimenting with early versions of "accumulations," in which Arman explores his reality and gives new dimensions to already complete objects.