" The Camel " was written by Rachel Axler and directed by Millicent Shelton . It derives its title from the figure of speech that a camel is " a horse made by a committee " . When the parks department puts together a mural proposal using elements of six different pieces of art , which Mark refers to in the episode as a camel . The episode features a guest appearance by stand-up comedian Kirk Fox as Joe , Leslie 's nemesis from the Pawnee sewer department . Within a week of the episode 's original broadcast , a deleted scene from " The Camel " were made available on the official '' Parks and Recreation '' website . In the 90-second clip , Ann tries to get out of helping with the mural , April looks through a dumpster for inspiration and Ron defends " cookie cutter art " by saying , " There 's nothing wrong with a cookie cutter . You know what you get with a cookie cutter ? Perfectly shaped cookies ! " Leslie indicates she had a dream involving American actress Gina Gershon . For her mural , Donna proposes a recreation of Leonardo da Vinci 's painting '' The Last Supper '' with Indiana natives in place of the apostles . Actor Greg Kinnear was chosen to replace Jesus , with the Apostles replaced by John Mellencamp , Larry Bird , Michael Jackson , David Letterman and a NASCAR race car , among others . Jerry presents for his mural a work of pointillism , a style of painting in which small distinct dots of color create the impression of a wider image . When proposing her somber mural , Leslie claims tragedy often succeeds in awards , and specifically cites the Academy Awards which honor the film industry . As an example , Leslie uses '' The English Patient '' , the 1996 Best Picture winner during the 69th Academy Awards . Upon first receiving his painting , Tom says , " It looks like a lizard puking up Skittles " , a reference to the multi-colored candies . Leslie , upon the idea of putting the best parts of each design into a new mural , says it is like having Michelangelo , Andy Warhol , Jackson Pollock and Jim Davis do one painting . When Mark tries to get out of helping with the mural , he uses the excuse , " I was gon na go to Arby 's and watch '' Frontline '' " , a reference to a fast food restaurant chain and a Public Broadcasting Service public affairs program . Ron names his bunion Paul , after the mythological lumberjack Paul Bunyan
69th Academy Awards
69th Academy Awards
The Camel (Parks and Recreation)