Currently the One More Voice site offers very limited resources connected to Markino: simple links to the Wikipedia page, a few of his autobiographical works, and a few books illustrated by him. While this does a respectable job giving an overview of who Yoshio Markino was, it does not offer any research or commentary nor does it offer a place for people to share their views and comments. While this project cannot offer a space for people to share and interact due to its small scope, it will strive to offer more material that gets deeper into Markino’s life and to present information for users to interact with in creative ways.
One shortcoming of the One More Voice project in terms of Yoshio Markino, is that it favors his identity as a writer over his identity as a painter. The collection under which he is listed is called “Book Length Works,” favoring his contribution to the book industry, but Markino did much more than that. He was a writer, but he was also a painter. One More Voice does offer links to books illustrated by Markino, however, it does not offer any link to information directly about Markino as a painter or have any individual images of his paintings. This begs the question of why the written is preferenced here? Why can’t his visual art pieces stand alone? Why is his life as an author stressed, and his life as a painter only hinted at?
To counteract this gap, much of my scholarship has been learning about Markino as a painter as well as researching his other interests, such as theater. For example, I have created a space where people can wander around a virtual museum to look at and appreciate Markino’s skill as a painter. I also have created a series of posts which detail my attempts to simulate Markino’s painting, especially his silk-veil technique. Within these, I discuss what is thought to be Markino’s painting process while also experimenting with his methods in new ways, demonstrating that archival work does not have to be stagnant but can be used as a base to experiment on one’s own.
Due to the nature of One More Voice, it is only able to give a cursory look at individual creators since its purpose is to offer information on a large quantity of individuals instead of just one. But this project will consist of multiple sites exploring a variety of themes focusing on him and his interactions with the world and with other individuals displayed on the One More Voice site. In doing so, readers will hopefully be able to gain a more comprehensive view of this extraordinary individual and why the materials he has left behind (paintings, books, etc.) mattered then and how they matter now.
Inside cover of Markino's My Recollections and Reflections