It’s probably your favourite colour. It’s the most common eye colour. Women prefer to see men wearing it. You can’t print colour without it. What’s more magical than a robin’s egg? It’s the colour of English setters and Australian heelers. People have killed for sapphires. Politically, it’s the opposite of red. Aquamarines, said to have been spilled from the treasure chests of the sirens, were used for the first eyeglass (Nero’s) and are believed to cure laziness and instill wisdom.

It is the colour of the mist surrounding an Australian mountain range; the mist is created by sunshine filtering through eucalyptus oil vapour. It used to denote constancy--in 1672, William Walker wrote a poem in which he was the first to couple it with the word ‘true’ (and label unfaithful women ‘green’.) It has few negative connotations--even ‘livid’ denotes righteous strength.

It’s blue.

The Canadian Society for Asian Arts, to celebrate its 30th anniversary, celebrates blue by presenting, in conjunction with the Vancouver Museum, the Canadian CraftMuseum and Apparel BC, All About Blue.

The exhibition tells the story of blue, presenting the materials from which the colour is derived and blue objects from Asia and the west which have had a profound influence on art, culture and civilization. Exhibits provide a cross-cultural look at a universal phenomenon; the uses of blue in the ancient world will be contrasted with current applications and designs for the future. Historical and contemporary objects will show how blue changed the world and how its presence infiltrates every aspect of our lives.

While the Canadian Craft Museum hosts Cobalt & Indigo, an exhibit of textile treatments and ceramics from Canadian, Indian and Japanese artists, the Vancouver Museum will house a comprehensive exhibit of items, including everything from recycled indigo lanterns and precious gems to glass decorative objects and 11th century textiles, to the story of jeans, to an exploration of the cultural expressions of blue in language and music.

 In short, if there’s anything you ever wanted to know about blue, you can find it in Vancouver from now until April.