Photo courtesy of Mario Basner

Mario Basner Revealed

BY STACEY GUALANDI

There are very few artists with more respect for libraries than award-winning photographer Mario Basner.

In July, Basner welcomed invited guests to his eponymous gallery located in Summerlin’s Tivoli Village and revealed his latest in a series titled “Morgan Library 1” to oohs, aahs, and much applause. (In other words, no one used their library voice.)

“I love old libraries, everything they represent and stand for,” says Basner. “This is one of my top 5 libraries in the world.”

The Morgan Library and Museum is located in the heart of New York City and contains the world’s foremost collections of manuscripts, rare books, music, drawings and other works of art. Built in the early 1900s by financier and preeminent literary collector Pierpont Morgan, its Italian-style palazzo epitomized America’s “Age of Elegance.”

“The architecture was meant to reflect the nature and stature of its holdings,” he says.  “Preserving this is important to me.  It is my personal look at heaven, so to speak.”

The first of his library series began inside the George Peabody Library at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.   When representatives of New York-based Zeiss (Basner prefers Zeiss camera lenses) saw that photograph, a collaboration was born.

“[Our] relationship is based on mutual interests and a dedication to artistry and utilizing things in the right way,” says Basner, on partnering with Zeiss.

Getting permission to take a picture inside the historic library; however, wasn’t easy.  He says the first email reply from The Morgan said it would cost $35,000.

After several rejections, they eventually did find the right person to give the ok, and Basner was off and snapping.   He likes to work organically, but he says this “special permission project” had to be done in 90 minutes.  For him, it was worth the challenge.

“It’s a much deeper situation than it’s just pretty,” he says. “These are environments that are going away, that children these days don’t grow up with anymore like I had the privilege to be able to… it changes who people grow up to be.”

From a young age, Basner says he’s always been creative.  He was a professional musician for 25 years before picking up a camera full-time over a decade ago while working with photographers in Los Angeles.

“I got exposed to work that really changed my outlook on what I had to share.  [But] the most difficult part is finding a direction.”

Basner finally found his purpose when he visited the Beelitz Sanitorium near Berlin, Germany.  With sixty buildings on 200 acres, he says it was a photographer’s dream.  His breakthrough work is now featured as part of the limited-edition World Heritage Collection inside his Las Vegas gallery, earning him 57 international awards of excellence to date.

Morgan Library I photography by Mario Basner

“The scenery is wonderful, but it wasn’t that.  It was about the reasons behind it, the humanitarian values that were represented there. The challenge was to capture those moods.”

Several pieces recently went on display in Venice, Italy, as part of the “Personal Structures” exhibit at the prestigious La Biennale di Venezia through Nov 24, 2019.  As one of 30 photographic artists selected worldwide, Basner says he is very proud to provide a glimpse into Las Vegas art and culture for all the world to see.

“I always look for things that are compelling and take me on a journey.  That’s when I have a story to tell and I think that’s when it gets into the realm of art.”

To learn more about Basner’s work (and get a peek at his soon-to-be-released New York Public Library), go to www.mariobasner.com