Artist Unknown

Characters

• Squidward Tentacles
  • Daydream Squidward
• People in the kitchen
• Milk Man
• Janitor
• Nat Peterson
  • Daydream Nat Peterson
• Tom
  • Daydream Tom
• Fred
  • Daydream Fred
• Evelyn
  • Daydream Evelyn
• John
• Archie
• Charlie
• Lloyd-Rich
• Anchovy
• Buddy
• Cara
  • Daydream Cara
• Template:Data:Links
  • SpongeBob's hands Template:Debut
• Monty P. Moneybags Template:Debut
• Daydream Harold
• Daydream Sadie

Synopsis

Squidward is teaching an art class at the Bikini Bottom Recreation Center, and cannot wait to see his new students. He opens the doors and greets a whole crowd of people, who are actually looking for the cooking class. They depart, leaving behind Squidward's lone pupil: SpongeBob SquarePants.

Squidward begrudgingly starts to teach SpongeBob what he knows. He starts off by demonstrating a poorly-drawn circle on the blackboard and has SpongeBob copy it, but is shocked when SpongeBob produces a perfect circle. He demands SpongeBob show him how he did it, so SpongeBob effortlessly draws a realistic human head, erases the details, and leaves a perfect circle behind. Squidward snatches SpongeBob's paper and crumples it up, which SpongeBob then turns into an origami sculpture of himself and Squidward playing leap-frog. Squidward rips it apart, but SpongeBob simply forms the scraps into a picture of them continuing their game.

File:Artist Unknown 032.jpg

"There! Now it's art!"

Squidward then attempts to show off his prowess with the chisel, creating a mere pile of rubble. However, with a single stroke of his mallet, SpongeBob produces Michelangelo's David from a raw block of marble. Squidward is amazed, but out of jealousy, scoffs at SpongeBob's masterpiece and refuses to acknowledge his talent. SpongeBob, unquestioning of his teacher's judgment, is ashamed of himself and throws himself out of class, falling into a dumpster being hauled away to the city dump.

Immediately after, an art collector named Monty P. Moneybags comes in, saying that he is looking for art to purchase for his new museum. Squidward shows off his own pieces to him, but Monty hates them all. However, he falls in love with SpongeBob's masterpiece, which Squidward takes credit for. Carrying the heavy statue to Monty's car, Squidward accidentally knocks off its head. Monty assures Squidward that he should easily be able to make another one, and that he will come back the next day to get it. Squidward, desperate for SpongeBob to make him another masterpiece, goes to the dump and convinces a depressed SpongeBob that he deserves another chance.

Upon returning to art class, SpongeBob has unfortunately taken Squidward's prior lessons to heart, and so fails to create anything of decent quality. When he tries to chisel another marble statue, it simply collapses into a pile of rubble. Squidward goes insane with frustration and begins smashing pillars of marble. SpongeBob concludes that his artistic "triumph" was too much for Squidward to handle, and crashes through the wall, going back to the dump.

File:Artunknown ninja.png

Monty P. Moneybags returns and, upon seeing what Squidward has produced, incredulously asks who is responsible. Squidward shifts the blame onto the janitor and angrily storms out. However, unknown to Squidward, he has made an even more beautiful and bigger rendition of David while throwing his fit, and Monty cries out to the janitor, "You, sir, are the greatest artist who ever lived!"

Production

This episode was originally going to be named "Squidward's Cooking Class," but since Squidward dreamed of teaching art, the title was changed. Hence, the fish appear thinking it is cooking class in the actual episode, but then leave realizing it is Squidward's art class.

Release

• This episode is available on the Seascape Capers, Complete 2nd Season, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Reception

• Template:Reception

Trivia

• The background of the title card of this episode is the marble stone constantly used throughout this episode.
• This and "Sailor Mouth" were the first episodes to air after the 9/11 attacks.
• When "License to Milkshake" premiered, it was paired up with this episode.
• SpongeBob's method of drawing a circle is the opposite of how one would naturally draw the detailed head and face (as SpongeBob used as his starting point for the circle).
• This is the second episode where SpongeBob repeats "really" in a conversation. The first was in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III."
• In the Hebrew version, Squidward is mistakenly called "Mr. Terpentine" throughout the episode, instead of "Mr. Tentacles."
• In the Brazilian dubbing, during the sculpture inspection the "perfect censorship" quote was changed to "visão perfeita" (perfect vision).

Cultural references

• SpongeBob's "dump" song is in the tune of the finale to the "William Tell Overture."
• The name is similar to Occupation Unknown or Author Unknown.
• One of the paintings on the classroom wall is a parody of the American Gothic.
• The marble statues done by SpongeBob and Squidward parody Michelangelo's David.

Errors

• When SpongeBob says "I did it, Squidward!" on his second attempt to draw a circle, the circle appears out of nowhere.
• When SpongeBob is knocked out the window into the trash bin, there is glass on the floor inside, when it should be outside the building with since that is the direction in which SpongeBob goes through the window.
• When Squidward tears up the rule book, there are some pieces on the floor, but in one minute, they disappear. Also, when SpongeBob uses these pieces to make something, some pieces that are red disappear, but when he is done making it, they reappear.
• The window that SpongeBob goes through goes from being broken to fixed in between shots.
• It is unknown how Squidward knew SpongeBob was taken to the dump, as he didn't see him be taken away by the garbage truck.
  • Although, it's possible Squidward heard the closing of the dumpster and the beeping from the truck and pieced it together before he went looking.
• It's unknown how SpongeBob new the name of Squidward's "Bold and Brash" painting, or that it belonged to Squidward in the first place. However, it's possible SpongeBob saw it off screen before this episode.