BRILLO BOX (3¢ OFF)

In 1969, filmmaker Lisanne Skyler’s parents bought an Andy Warhol Brillo Box for $1,000. Exact replicas of the supermarket carton, Warhol’s Brillo Boxes were at first dismissed by the art world. But forty years later, in 2010, at the height of the recession, the same sculpture fetched $3,000,000 at a Christie’s auction. The HBO Documentary Film Brillo Box (3¢ off) follows the surprising journey of this sculpture as it travels from the Skylers’ living room to the global art market -- from the flashpoint of controversy to becoming an iconic art object — exploring how we navigate the ephemeral nature of value and value, and the decisions that shape family history.

By tracking the forty-year journey of a single Warhol sculpture across different cultural and economic landscapes, Brillo Box (3¢ off) seeks to reframe the question of what is art, who -- or what -- determines its worth, and why it matters to our lives. Blending a playful and irreverent reassessment of Pop Art, with a richly evocative and touching family narrative, the film sparks a vital conversation about the value of art, while paying tribute to Andy Warhol, to all artists and to two parents who chose to share art with their children. 

In addition to interviews with Martin and Rita Skyler, Brillo Box (3¢ Off) includes insights from high-profile names in the contemporary art world, including Laura Paulson (chairman, Americas at Christie’s), Jessica Todd Smith (Curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art), Irving Sandler (art critic and historian), and Eric Shiner (former director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh).

BRILLO BOX (3¢ OFF) was written, directed, and produced by Lisanne Skyler; editor, Jeanna French; producer, Judith Black. For HBO: supervising editor, Geof Bartz, A.C.E.; senior producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.