Contemporary representatives of naht art and various applications

Naht art is generally the application of calligraphy on wood, metal or mother-of-pearl material using a jigsaw. It is also called as carving or jigsaw work. Floods and fires in the past have caused damage or destruction of the works of naht art applied on wooden materials. Arts such as calligraphy, illumination, miniature, marbling are widely taught today and many works are produced, but it is observed that the art of naht is an art that has sunk into oblivion compared to these art fields. In this study, it is aimed to introduce the art of naht with all its subtleties and to transfer it to future generations. In the study, action research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was carried out. The participants of the research are Prof. Mehmet Zeki KUŞOĞLU, who performs the art of naht academically and artistically and many other art branches such as painting, graphics, calligraphy, illumination, miniature, and his licensed student, visual arts teacher Mesut DİKEL. In the research, interviews were held with the participants, their artistic subtleties were observed in the process and the data obtained were analyzed descriptively. In addition, the art of naht was practiced with Mesut DİKEL, and the waw creation, consisting of Mesut DİKEL's designs in calligraphy, was performed for the first time by the researcher as wood carving and presented as a virtual exhibition. Virtual Islamic arts museums all around the world were visited and examples of naht art exhibited in these museums, the life stories of the artists, their professional experiences and prominent works were included as well. Evaluations and suggestions were submitted in order to bring the art of naht to the fore and to be recognized by future generations.