For over three decades, artists Antoni Muntadas and Marshall Reese have watched, studied and culled from the seemingly infinite expanse that is televised political advertising. As forms of media have proliferated, so have politician’s attempts to win your vote; every four years, Muntadas and Reese re-edit their archive of presidential campaign ads, reworking the images and slogans into a tight 75-minute reel of promotional material, moving-image magic and madness that only politics can provide.

The latest iteration, Political Advertisements IX, 1952 - 2016, will be screened at the SVA Theater on November 4, and a discussion about the project with Muntadas and Reese—moderated by Michelle Goldberg, senior contributing writer at Slate—will follow. In preparation for this week’s event and with Election Day just around the corner, the two artists reflected on their ongoing project and what they have seen throughout the years.

How was this project initially conceived?

Antoni Muntadas: In 1984, Ed Diamond, a media critic and professor of journalism, published a book called The Spot, on the history of presidential television campaign advertising. I was a friend of his—we both taught at MIT—and I told Diamond I wanted to publish a video counterpart to the book, feeling that there would be a great deal of interest to see the ads for themselves. I proposed to do that and he granted me access to his archives.

Marshall Reese: I met Muntadas shortly after he began working on it. He showed me a rough cut; I was very excited by the material and vividly remembered a number of the spots. Shortly after that, he asked me if I wanted to collaborate on it and here we are 32 years later.

Could you describe the process of making Political Advertisement?

Reese: We follow the elections very closely from the start of the primaries, which are happening earlier and earlier—each edition of Political Advertisement now begins 15 months or more in advance of the election, from the first days when candidates begin to declare their ambitions to run for the presidency to the final month of the election.

Muntadas: Collecting (developing an archive), selecting and editing are the acts of the process and form the decision-making that makes this work. For us a work of art is always defined in the last edit; whether it’s painting or sculpture, the last act is the most important decision. The final cut.

Reese: We’re conscious of the fact that we are building a narrative arc [and] mindful of stylistic trends, recycling of themes and imagery. This is what makes Political Advertisement a powerful commentary on how politicians project themselves and their policies through media.

Muntadas: We include as much as we have access to and, over time, have tried to get materials to make the picture as complete as possible.

What do you think has changed the most about political advertising as you've seen it?

Reese: Certainly the Internet as a medium for diffusing messages. In the past, due to broadcast time constraints and expense of buying time in media markets, messages were one minute or less. With the Internet there can be five-minute spots—Sanders’ mini-documentaries, for example, or Hillary’s longer spots. Also, the ability now to fine-tune messaging according to demographic data with advanced metrics is a science unto itself.

The amount of money dumped into the campaigns is staggering. It basically subsidizes the media and television. This is an outgrowth of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, equating the ability for a corporation or political-interest group to spend money to promote a political idea as the same as an individual expressing free speech. Ads by PACs [political action committees] . . . are more prevalent and continue to grow.

But above all, this year we see a new movement, even more disturbing than the money that's flooding the electoral process, and that's the impact of celebrity culture on politics and the growth of "post-truth" politics. This is something we fear will have long-term consequences on our political system.

How else has the Internet affected the type of ads put out?

Reese: There is the possibility for outsiders—i.e., non-campaign people—to broadcast their message, which, if it goes viral, can really change the playing field. One of our favorites is the mash-up of the Ridley Scott 1984-inspired ad introducing the Apple Macintosh, which was re-edited as pro-Obama and anti-Hillary in 2008 by a video editor in Washington, DC [watch below].