{"id":9969,"date":"2014-12-17T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.lib.luc.edu\/locl\/?p=9969"},"modified":"2026-01-12T15:36:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:36:44","slug":"staff-picks-james-10-bestmost-confounding-iamamiwhoamis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/2014\/12\/17\/staff-picks-james-10-bestmost-confounding-iamamiwhoamis\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff Picks – James’ 10 Best\/Most Confounding iamamiwhoamis"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 Best\/Most Confounding iamamiwhoamis
\n<\/strong>By James Conley<\/p>\n

You may not have heard of performance art\/music\/video act iamamiwhoami (made up of Swede powerhouses Jonna Lee & Claes Bj\u00f6rklund) or their innovative DIY filmmaking offshoot, Studio WAVE, but I am here to share with you the 10 best and therefore most bizarre costumes from their visual albums. A music video is released for each song and these add up to a narrative through-line for each album (yes, they did it years before Beyonce) so there\u2019s a lot to choose from here, but I did my best to pull out the real winners because salad outfits are the real reason for the season.<\/p>\n

Without further ado, I present Jonna Lee as\u2026<\/p>\n

\"10\"<\/a><\/p>\n

10.) \u2026 as the Tin Foil Jester<\/strong>
\n(found on album BOUNTY, track \u201cT\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

The perfect jester for a plastic king and extremely affordable on the kingdom\u2019s coffers. Looking for some extra flash for your next nude dance party on top of a mountain? Tin foil is the way to go because it\u2019s cheap, comes in sheets, and you can shape it into a myriad of forms (like a crown) so you can be your very own burger king (or queen).<\/p>\n

\"9\"<\/a><\/p>\n

9.) \u2026 as a plastic ball gown<\/strong>
\n(found on album BLUE, track \u201cThe Last Dancer\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Attending a formal event in the forest? Need a smashing outfit that matches the mason jars filled with tea lights hanging around your secret garden? Clear plastic is clear-ly the way to go- it\u2019s as light as a plastic feather, stretches when you\u2019ve had too many hors d\u2019oeuvres at the party, and keeps it\u2019s bustle shape even when you\u2019re not twirling!<\/p>\n

\"8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

8.) \u2026 as the Drywall Warrior<\/strong>
\n(found on album KIN, track \u201cDrops\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

The only way to take on those dust bunnies and difficult home projects, don\u2019t just clean- destroy that dirt! The crumbling drywall sword is a must for those hard to reach spots like the tops of kitchen cabinets and under the bed, and when it eventually falls apart you just need to take down one of your apartment walls for a whole new set of implements! Repeat the mantra: reuse, reduce, recycle.<\/p>\n

\"7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

7.) \u2026 as an elegant lamp<\/strong>
\n(found on album BOUNTY, track \u201cO\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever been invited to a party that\u2019s just not your scene? Or tagged along to an event where you have nothing in common with anyone? Follow Our Lady Jonna\u2019s example and wear and upside-down lampshade and stand in the corner. People love a creative lamp and you\u2019ll be the smash hit of the party without anyone trying to talk to you! Also you\u2019ll get the best Amazon.com reviews like: \u201dA+++, would buy again, definitely taller than a normal desk lamp but way more interesting than a tall IKEA \u2018KN\u00c4SJ\u00d6\u2019 lamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

6.) \u2026 as the Tae Bo Harlequin <\/strong>
\n(found on album KIN, track \u201cGoods\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Billy Blanks trained baby Jonna Lee to be the next Tae Bo master and his tutelage is clearly shown here as she jumps around inside a black box and sucker-punches the air like a boss. Note the spandex harlequin compression garment which allows for maximum dance-ification and offers a +15 dexterity buff.<\/p>\n

\"5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

5.) \u2026 as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch<\/strong>
\n(found on album BOUNTY, track \u201cN\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

This outfit is iamamiwhoami\u2019s desperate plea to save the world\u2019s oceans from pollution. Every year literal tons of sea life is killed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and it\u2019s only getting worse; Jonna shows off this vivisection of the natural world by covering herself in recyclables and floating around the pristine and lush natural splendor of an obliging forest. Note the juxtaposition. Feel for the Earth Mother. And recycle your damn bottles or Jonna will haunt your dreams.<\/p>\n

\"4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4.) \u2026 as a bottle-collecting cave bird<\/strong>
\n(found on album BLUE, track \u201cThin\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Ah, the cave bird in her natural habitat- crouched and ferocious. We see the delicate array of glass bottles arranged just-so by unseen suitors, much the way cartoon penguins will pick the shiniest rock to gift their potential mates. The cave bird stares longingly into her hand-talons which double as scrying mirrors to see which mate will produce the most powerful offspring. It is Autumn and mating season is coming to a close and dammit why should she choose a man anyway because she just got out of something serious and maybe she just needs some alone time okay? She decides to watch \u201cLove, Actually\u201d in the cave tonight while drinking cosmos instead.<\/p>\n

\"3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3.) \u2026 as that girl who fell into the supply cabinet at work<\/strong>
\n(found on album BOUNTY, track \u201cB\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Jonna is expressing her frustration with old coworkers in this brilliant ensemble here. Before she became the head of iamamiwhoami she worked for Drexel Industries as an analyst and her secretary Bonnie enjoyed not working and sticking Magic Tape on her fingers to look at her finger prints. Seriously she wasted SO much tape. What was she thinking?! This is for you Bonnie, SO WHO DOESN\u2019T KNOW HOW TO LIGHTEN UP AND HAVE FUN NOW??<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2.) \u2026 as a literal Ice Queen<\/strong>
\n(found on album BLUE, track \u201cVista\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

An activist through-and-through here Jonna takes back the stereotype of strong committed women as \u201cice queens\u201d and becomes a literal queen made of ice. Defiant and powerful this is a message of strength to all of those who have had to fight to prioritize their needs over a man\u2019s and to be accepted for it. Truly a role-model for the ages her universal message of unapologetic self-love inspires us all to flip the script and wear that ice crown with pride. <3<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1.) \u2026 as your relish tray<\/strong>
\n(found on album BOUNTY, track \u201cN\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n

Iamamiwhoami\u2019s classic take on \u201cyou are what you eat\u201d and the Leek Spin video is lush and to the point. If you eat the recommended amount of vegetables in your diet your hair will literally turn into lettuce and tomatoes and you too can be this spicy (note the hot peppercorn garnish) on the day to day. In the ultimate expression of the artist as the consumed image Jonna pushes us to think green, eat clean, and be the new, body-sushi-esque you, that you always knew you could be.<\/p>\n

\"0honorable\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Honorable Mention:<\/strong><\/p>\n

These zentai-suit clad figures are usually purely silhouette as an ominous antagonist in iamamiwhoami\u2019s music videos but this guy gets major points for his ice-shoulder-pad game. Happy holidays indeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 Best\/Most Confounding iamamiwhoamis By James Conley You may not have heard of performance art\/music\/video act iamamiwhoami (made up of Swede powerhouses Jonna Lee & Claes Bj\u00f6rklund) or their innovative DIY filmmaking offshoot, Studio WAVE, but I am here to share with you the 10 best and therefore most bizarre costumes from their visual albums. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":9970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[5016],"tags":[5027,5026,5019],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10019,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9969\/revisions\/10019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libblogs.luc.edu\/noteworthy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}