The image above is taken from What Is Contemporary Art? A Children’s Guide by Jacky Klein and Suzy Klein (Thames & Hudson [1], £12.95). The authors, a publisher and a BBC presenter, respectively, have set themselves the task of explaining contemporary art to children.

“By transforming things that we might think of as everyday and disposable,” they write, “contemporary artists are always reinventing and re-imagining.” Klein and Klein examine the work of more than 60 artists, including Ruscha, Bridget Riley, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol.

(All photos © Thames and Hudson)