On Using AI as a Tool
Glitch Atelier emerged at a moment when artists everywhere are negotiating what it means to make work in dialogue with artificial intelligence. Can you start by describing what first drew you to using AI as a tool — and what boundaries you’ve set for yourself within that relationship?
Marty Canniff of Glitch Atelier: As soon as text-to-image tools became available, I began experimenting. I’ve always been interested in technology — how it expands what’s possible creatively. I have a love–hate relationship with it; I see both the promise and the danger. But avoiding technological progress doesn’t serve anyone. People who are skeptical of AI should engage with it, so that those who approach it with blind faith don’t end up steering culture unchecked.
Artists have always created with whatever tools are at hand — pencils, paint, cameras, or code. The emotion behind the work doesn’t change, only the medium.
One thing I strive for is originality. The questions around AI training data are valid and worth serious consideration. For me, originality comes from filtering influence through my own sensibility. AI becomes an accelerant — a tool that helps bring inspiration into form more quickly.
“Artists have always created with whatever tools are at hand. The emotion and ideas behind the work are what drives it.”
On Authorship and Control
Many people still see AI as something that creates on its own, but you see it as an instrument of interpretation — not invention. How do you think about authorship in that context?
Marty, GA: Anyone who uses AI knows that to get anything worthwhile, you need ideas, a point of view, and to engage your personal taste. It’s similar to photography. Everyone has a camera, but not everyone makes art with it. AI doesn’t always replace authorship. It’s a tool that lets artists bring their ideas to life in ways that weren’t possible before.
On Process and Iteration
Your process seems very iterative, almost like a conversation. Could you walk us through how an idea develops — from a conceptual seed to the final image?
Marty, GA: As a painter, I’ve always approached art as a dialogue — make marks, assess, paint again, assess, make decisions, paint some more. Working with AI is similar. It’s just words instead of brushes. I come to it with an idea. I input a phrase, see what comes back, and respond to what surprises or inspires me. It’s a back-and-forth that leads somewhere unexpected. The process feels alive because it’s built on response and discovery.
On Materiality and Craft
There’s a strong material sensibility in Glitch Atelier’s prints — the texture of Hahnemühle paper, the pigment print, adding to the physicality of the final piece. How important is that tactility in counterbalancing the digital origins of the image?
Marty, GA: It’s essential. The image only feels complete once it exists physically. We sampled more than fifty types of paper, and Hahnemühle German Etching stood out for its depth and tactile presence. That texture reintroduces the human element — it bridges digital precision with materiality. It reminds you that even though the work began in pixels, it ends as something made, that exists in the physical world.
“The image only feels complete once it exists physically.”
On the Dialogue Between Artist and Algorithm (and creative partner)
You’ve described your framework as a “dialogue between artist and algorithm.” What have you learned about your own creativity through that exchange?
Marty, GA: What I love most is that it really is a dialogue — a genuine back-and-forth. I input an idea, see what emerges, reflect, edit, and respond again. Sometimes the results redirect the piece entirely. It’s a process of shaping and reshaping until something feels resolved, until it reaches a point where I recognize it as a piece that is worth sharing. There is another dialogue that is essential with Glitch Atelier. That is with my wife, my creative partner. We have a dialogue about images as I work through them. She pushes, asks insightful questions, and injects her ideas and direction. So, collectively we test and evolve ideas.
On Themes of Humanity and Imperfection
Your series often explore ideas like disconnection, coexistence, and attention. How do those themes guide your use of AI — rather than the other way around?
Marty, GA: Over time, I’ve noticed that the collections touch upon a few core ideas — connection, kindness, humanity as well as the “glitch”: embracing the beauty of imperfection, the serendipity of chance. I go with the flow of what appears instead of forcing control. That’s where the work feels most alive — in the space between precision and accident.
On Authenticity and Emotional Depth
In today’s art world, some dismiss AI-driven art as derivative or impersonal. Yet your work feels deeply intentional and emotionally resonant. How do you ensure that it retains that human depth?
Marty, GA: Artists should use whatever tools help them express themselves. What I love about AI is its democratizing potential — it allows more people to create, even without formal training. That can only make the world more expressive. Emotional depth doesn’t come from the tool itself; it comes from intent. Whether you’re working with stone, paint, or pixels, meaning still comes from the human behind it.
On What the Work Asks of Us
When you think about Glitch Atelier’s role in this moment — where technology and art are rapidly converging — what do you hope people take away from experiencing your work?
Marty, GA: I hope people can see the ideas the artwork brings to life. To notice how much we long for connection yet often lose it to distraction. To imagine worlds where adaptation, repurposing, and openness to the unfamiliar become forms of creativity. I hope it encourages people to give time and space to imperfection, to see that the richness of life lives inside it.
Limited edition archival pigment prints. Produced in Germany on Hahnemühle German Etching paper.
Conceptual collections. Designer-curated. Expanded ideas. Limited editions.
