In the heart of downtown Springfield, a large maple tree sprouts from an unexpected place—a payphone booth. This surreal and striking visual, part of Mike Salisbury’s Call NOW! installation, playfully merges nature with technology, creating a thought-provoking public artwork. Adorned with signs reading “ONLY 1.50°¢” and “Call Now!,” the piece invites passersby to pause and reflect. A closer look reveals lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” a nod to environmental awareness within this urban paradox.
Installed at the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and E. St. Louis Street as part of the 2022-23 Sculpture Walk Springfield collection, Call NOW! marks Salisbury’s first international public art piece. The Canadian multimedia artist is renowned for blending nature and outdated technology, using abandoned payphones as metaphors for connection and disconnection. Here, a living tree growing through a payphone booth raises questions about our relationship with nature in a time of rapid technological change.
Is nature reclaiming its place, or is it trapped by human-made structures? Is the phone booth protecting the tree, or stifling its growth? Hidden messages within the signage deepen the environmental message, referencing the 1.5- degree Celsius limit of the Paris Agreement.
In 2023, Call NOW! was added to Springfield’s permanent public art collection, cementing its role as a lasting piece of the city’s cultural fabric. Salisbury’s installation blurs the lines between nostalgia and urgency, urging viewers to reflect on the past while calling for action in the present.
