Sod in museum gallery

Have any of you been involved with the installation of dirt or sod
in a gallery?  What was involved as far as preparations and cleanup?
What special precautions should be taken?

A new installation is being discussed at my museum that involves
putting down a floor of sod (on top of plastic) that is allowed to
die and yellow over the course of a month to six weeks.  The county
extension office told our staff that "any bugs in the sod like
moisture and light, so would die on their own." The installation
would take place this summer.

My concerns are numerous and include the risk of an insect
infestation and the temporary increase in humidity in the gallery.
The gallery space is in very close proximity to our works on paper
storage room.

I do not know if the sod that would be used is grown using
sterilized soil or if this would ease any of my concerns.

Sofia Galarza Liu
Spencer Museum of Art
The University of Kansas


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:57
                   Distributed: Monday, April 6, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-57-010
                                  ***