'Space-Time-Continuum': A South Beach Exhibit That's Truly Out Of This World
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – You can safely say private collector Rudolf Budja has an exhibit that is truly out of this world.
"Here we have 'The Eagle Has Landed,'" Budja said, pointing out a picture to CBS4's Lisa Petrillo.
The exhibition, now on in the lobby at The Continuum on South Beach, is called "Space-Time-Continuum."
It features more than 40 vintage photos of original prints developed from NASA's most historic missions between 1955-1994.
The photographs for this show were selected from the space agency's complete photo collection of 8,000 pictures, which Budja has acquired.
"It was one person who was responsible for the NASA archives and he lived and worked from 1950s until 1994 and he built the collection up. They are vintage prints which means they were developed when they were taken, they are not reprints," he said.
Walking through the exhibit you'll see treasures like the shot of astronaut Buzz Aldrin inside the lunar module, which was taken by fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong in July of 1969 on Apollo 11.
"You can see his Omega watch he was wearing back then," said Budja.
Then of course there's first that step heard around the world.
"The foot step, this is 'One Small Step For Man.' This is special. There are other shots known, but this very unique," he explained.
One photo is of a dazzling shot of the sun showing an explosion of light from the wind.
Another is one of the first shots taken from the moon to the earth onboard Apollo 8.
"This is one of the most important photographs here. You see Earth and the Moon on the same line shot out from space," he said.
How they were distributed adds to the uniqueness of their stories.
"The photos are sized small, just 10x8, because they were sent to the media via the U.S. Postal system," he explained. "They are made for the newspapers and magazines. There was no email. They had to put it in envelopes and mail to the New York Times, for instance."
Whether it's historic moon landings, missions that failed, others that soared and even astronauts floating in space, this exhibit is something to behold..
Budja is not disclosing how much he purchased the collection for, but he says he has no plans to sell it.
The space-loving Austrian native, who now calls Miami Beach home, has dreams to share it in an even bigger way.
"I want to build a museum and make it visible for the rest of the world. Let's say, as an Austrian guy in America, I want to leave a little footprint and give back something what I could achieve here in Miami," he said.
The Space-Time-Continuum exhibit is on at The Continuum, located at 50 South Pint Drive in Miami Beach, through November 24th.
There is no charge but you must make an appointment to see it. To do so, you can do it through Rudolf Budja Gallery by emailing: Budja@me.com.