Wurtz

Mr. Wurtz is often compared with Richard Tuttle, his Postminimalist elder.

Mixing Minimalism, Mythology and the Miscellaneous Lance Esplund 2011

Wurtz (b. 1948) takes sundry odds and ends, such as buttons, shoestrings, coat hangers, plastic bags and scraps of raw lumber, and transforms them (but not too much) into faces, trees, tiny villages, gardens and little trapeze-like swings—constructions whose misfit, arts-and-crafts quality is childish and endearing.

Mixing Minimalism, Mythology and the Miscellaneous Lance Esplund 2011

More literal and less subtle than Mr. Tuttle, however, Mr. Wurtz is most appealing when he looks toward Modern masters such as Joseph Cornell and Alexander Calder—maintaining the integrity yet transcending the tedium of his materials.

Mixing Minimalism, Mythology and the Miscellaneous Lance Esplund 2011

Prudential declined to answer, saying that information was proprietary, Wurtz said.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

After he learned that the payouts stayed in Prudential's general fund, Wurtz said, he asked Prudential how much money the insurance company made from these accounts and how many dollars it held in retained assets.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

Wurtz, 62, said he had believed that the Alliance Account money went into a bank.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

After he learned that the payouts stayed in Prudential's general fund, Wurtz said, he asked Prudential how much money the insurance company made from these accounts and how many dollars it held in retained assets.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

Wurtz, 62, said he had believed that the Alliance Account money went into a bank.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

At the VA office, Wurtz, a civilian employee, said he now understands for the first time that, because he's covered by the federal insurance program, his wife could receive a MetLife "checkbook" someday.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010

It took Wurtz, who's been working with insurers for most of his career, more than a decade to understand how retained-asset accounts work.

Insurers hold billions in federal death benefits in unprotected accounts 2010