betty goes to the museum - 2. daphne

part two of thirteen

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betty consulted the little folder which she had picked up on entering the museum. if she read the floor plan in it correctly, “the uncompromising feminist art of daphne edwards-soraya” was in a room just ahead and to her left. she entered the room. a young woman and a young man were just leaving the room. there were no other people in the room. the first thing betty saw was a canvas about four feet wide extending almost from floor to ceiling. the canvas was white with lettering of various bright colors. the words on the canvas were: alle mense is roes bütün kişilər köpük var gizon gaizto guztiak dira svi muškarci su ološ tots els homes són escòria tanan nga mga tawo mao ang taya anthu onse mukhale chopondapo tutti omi sò ball svi ljudi su šljam všichni muži jsou spodina lle mænd er udskud alle mensen zijn uitschot ĉiuj homoj estas sedimento kõik mehed on saast ahat ng tao ay mga hamak na tao kaikki miehet ovat roskaväkeä tous les hommes sont l'écume alle minsken binne smoargens todos os homes son desagradables alle Männer sind Abschaum tout moun yo kras dukan mutane masu kumfa na kanaka a pau, he pelapela tag nrho cov txiv neej yog pom tej kev phem minden férfi söpredék Allir menn eru óhroða mmadụ nile nādighi ọcha semua orang adalah sampah Tá gach fir olc tutti gli uomini sono feccia kabeh wong sing uwuh todos los hombres son escoria a small table and chair had been placed beside the canvas. an opened laptop was on the table, along with a little card. betty picked up the card. it explained that the laptop was opened to google translate. betty had already noticed that herself. the card encouraged the patron to translate the phrases on the canvas into other languages. betty did not know any language except english, although she could recognize a few other languages, like french and spanish, as themselves, when she saw them. she began translating the phrases on the canvas into english, and quickly got the message. they were all translations of “all men are scum” into various languages. betty found this mildly amusing but not particularly informative. there were other canvases and a few etchings on the walls of the room, which betty supposed were also the “uncompromising feminist art of daphne edwards-soraya”. some were abstracts, others were writing in languages betty did not understand, and some were in scripts she could not read even phonetically. betty decided not to try to translate any of the writing on the wall with google translate, but to leave the room and look at some other exhibits. as she was leaving the room a severe looking young woman with thick glasses was entering it, carrying a spiral notebook with loose papers and what might have been drawings sticking out of it. betty wondered if the young woman was daphne edwards-soraya. 3. nestor sakato and john 23