Photographer opens first exhibit in Tivoli Village, highlighting abandoned German hospital

Mario Basner’s exhibit is a result of five days spent in Germany in 1994, at a long-abandoned hospital compound of roughly 60 buildings on more than 200 acres.

His “World Heritage Collection,” made up of two dozen photos, is on display through Feb. 28 at Tivoli Village, 400 S. Rampart Blvd.

“The thing that stood out to me was the quality with which this thing was built,” Basner said. “This wasn’t built to serve as a functional hospital. This was built to comfort the people who were there.”

The exhibit shows the Beelitz-Heilstätten hospital, built in 1898 as a sanatorium that housed tuberculosis patients until about 1930. It was used to treat injured German soldiers in World War I and Nazi personnel in World War II. The Tom Cruise movie “Valkyrie” used part of the property as a backdrop.

Basner photographed it when it was abandoned. He said walking around the place was “mesmerizing.”

“There’s something that happens when you stand in the presence of history. It’s incredibly humbling — so much bigger than we are,” Basner said.

Basner needed permission from the site’s owner to observe, and he was denied at first. It took months of emailing before he got the green light.

His wife of five years, Deanna Riley, accompanied him to Europe. She often acts as his assistant on photo shoots.

“We walked into the first room and both of us said, ‘It’s like a ballroom,’” she said.

While he was busy getting the right angle, she explored, often hurrying back to tell him of another area he needed to see.

“When he first heard about (the hospital), it grabbed him,” Riley said. “It was undeniable that he’d go there. It’s changed him; he found his purpose.”

The photos range from 20 inches by 30 inches to 60 inches by 90 inches.

The architecture is the star of the show, featuring stairwells with ornate iron railings, entryways with stairs fanning out before them and hallways spilling over with light from tall windows.

Basner’s interest in photography started when he was 15. Growing up in Hamburg, Germany, he also was talented musically, performing as a drummer in Broadway shows. Being part of shows such as “The Lion King” and “Mamma Mia!” brought him to Las Vegas about 10 years ago.

This is his Basner’s first exhibit. For one photo, titled “Choices,” the camera was pointed at the juncture of two halls. He likened it to a crossroads in life.

“We make the choice of which path we take, the one with the foreseeable outcome, or the one where you don’t know what’s going to happen. You take a chance or you don’t,” he said.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.