- Mark: Well, you made a camel. (Beat) You've never heard that saying? "The camel was actually a horse designed by a committee." And what you guys have here is one ugly camel.
When the "Spirit of Pawnee" mural in city hall is vandalized again, City Manager Paul announces a contest for the departments to come up with a replacement. Leslie gets the Parks Department, plus Ann, to submit mural designs so they can vote on their favorite to submit in the contest.
Andy meanwhile has been getting used to his new job as the shoeshine stand operator in City Hall. Ron comes for one. Ron has a bunion on his foot, and he finds that the shoeshine helps to massage and ease the pain. He deliberately scuffs his shoe to get another, and then a third one, and during this, Ron makes a loud moaning noise that creeps Andy out.
When the department members present their mural ideas, none are quite up to snuff. Ann, who acknowledges a lack of creative talent, presents a drawing of a park with pictures of dogs cut out from magazines pasted on that is widely panned by the others. Tom paid a local artist to make a painting for him, and he is initially unsatisfied with the result (a colorful abstract painting), but when presenting it to the staff, however, he suddenly experiences his first emotional reaction to a work of art. Donna presents a remake of The Last Supper with famous people from Indiana. Jerry presents a beautiful pointillist photo-mosaic of city hall, but everyone laughs at him and dismisses it when he accidentally calls his mural a "murinal". April presents a dark and bizarre piece made of garbage she found in a dumpster. Leslie proposes a picture of a historic Pawnee bread factory fire, which she thinks will win because it is dark and depressing. When it's time for a vote, everyone votes for their own mural. To make things easier, Leslie proposes that they combine elements from each of their individual designs into one mural, but the end result is a confusing mess. When consulted, Mark calls it a "camel", citing the saying that the camel looks like a horse that was designed by a committee. At Leslie's request, Mark makes a drawing of a man feeding birds in a park, which he says will win because it's simple and would please everyone, and Leslie decides to use it, though the rest of the department (except for Ron) disagrees.
After a day of clumsily avoiding one another, Andy and Ron run into each other in the hallway. After a brief conversation, they agree to just pretend that awkward little moment never happened.
When Leslie sees how proud the other departments are of their own mural designs and how much fun they had doing it, she (with encouragement from Mark, who calls it "way more fun") decides they will submit the "camel". They don't win the contest, but neither does anyone else. The city decides to restore the old mural and rename it "The Diversity Express" because it's much cheaper. The Parks Department is nevertheless proud of their work, which they hang in their conference room; Ron also hangs Mark's sketch in his office.
Tropes:
- Butt-Monkey:
- Jerry: Even though his mural is the best idea, everyone dismisses it after he makes a slip of the tongue.
- Kyle: Andy lets Ron cut in line in front of Kyle, and when Kyle complains, Andy throws his briefcase down the hallway.
- Cringe Comedy: The Parks Department's presentation to the City Manager with their "camel" mural. Even April can't help herself when she's barely able to stifle her giggles from the discomfort and awkwardness of the situation.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: The murals in city hall are pretty unpleasant, depicting things like the atrocities committed against the Wamapoke people by the white Pawnee settlers. Lampshaded by Leslie when she says Pawnee needs "better, less offensive history."
- Dumpster Dive: April roots around in the garbage to find things to use for her mural.
- Happy-Ending Massage: When Andy is shining one of Ron's shoes, he hits a certain spot on Ron's foot that's been aching for some time, causing the latter to moan rather sexually.
- "Last Supper" Steal: Donna's replacement mural idea is a recreation of The Last Supper with famous people from Indiana taking the places of Jesus and the disciples.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Andy and Ron agree to never speak of that awkward moment of Ron moaning loudly when Andy shined his shoes ever again.
- Malaproper: When Jerry accidentally calls his mural a "murinal".
- Nightmare Fetishist: April's idea for the replacement mural is made of garbage and is full of horrifying imagery, such as wanting a TV to play footage of knee surgeries and a giant hamster wheel with a fat man running in it endlessly for a piece of raw meat. Leslie later describes it as "hellish and might make someone vomit", to which April thanks her for the compliment.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Jerry's mural idea is by far the best, but no one gets past the fact that he accidentally called it a "murinal".
- Running Gag: The unpleasant murals in city hall. Attempting to replace one is the focus of the episode.
- Shout-Out: Various celebrities from Indiana are name-dropped, as is ER.
- Strictly Formula: In-Universe with Mark's sketch of a man feeding birds in a park for the replacement mural. Everyone complains that it's boring, but Ron likes it fine. Mark even invokes this as the reason why it would likely win, as it's simple and pleasing for everyone.
- Terrible Artist: Ann's idea for the mural is a badly drawn park with pictures of dogs cut out of magazines and pasted all over. Tom calls it something a death row inmate would make in art therapy class and even Leslie admits it's trite.
- True Art Is Angsty: Invoked In-Universe with Leslie's idea for a photo of a bread factory fire as the mural replacement, which she's sure will win because it's dark and depressing.
- True Art Is Incomprehensible: In-Universe with Tom and April's mural pitches.
- Tom's mural idea is just a drawing he paid an art school student to make with little instruction, resulting in a colorful bunch of shapes that Tom initially describes as looking like a rainbow lizard vomiting Skittles. When presenting it to the rest of the department, he winds up experiencing his first emotional reaction to a work of art and is very adamant about how the shapes are the key to it all, much to Donna's confusion.
- April's mural design has a bunch of rats made out of garbage beneath a big TV playing looped videos of knee surgeries while a fat guy, eating raw beef and screaming, runs in a giant hamster wheel next to the mural.
Leslie: I have one question. Why?April: If you have to ask, you don't get it.
