Jack Nicklaus Tribute Sculpture

Audio transcription:

Jeff: “My name is Jeffrey Hanson Varilla and I’m a native of Chicago. I’m a painter and a sculptor, and I studied at the University of Iowa and also studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago – where I met my wife Anna in the Sculpture Department, and together we’ve been creating public monuments, both secular and religious, for about 25 years.” Anna: “My name is Anna Koh-Varilla; I came from Seoul, South Korea in 1982. I came to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as a foreign student, and in the Sculpture Department that’s how I met my husband Jeff. We are creating public monuments and sacred arts all over the United States, England and South Korea. When we visited your community, Jeff and I said – I don’t know who said it first; we finish the sentences of each other – that we cannot imagine Jack Nicklaus without a child. I mean, especially after we spent time with Jack Nicklaus; he was a wonderful family man and not only as a golfer but a great business man and mentor in all different ways.” Jeff: “I think, too, in the sculpture we wanted to convey the idea of Jack being a consummate golf professional, one of the best golfers of the 20th century but also as a mentor to young people; he’s also very strong on family values, so we wanted to convey that as well.” Anna: “Right. And the composition kind of points at the direction for the future of Dublin.”

To learn more about the Jack Nicklaus Tribute Sculpture, visit dublinarts.org/publicart.