Why Humans Love Us Some Earthy Fall Colors
Fall is nearly upon us, and I cannot wait to don my cozy brown corduroys, retro orange cowl-neck sweater, and olive green shirt-dress. The hues are some comfort as we’re forced to say goodbye to summer. But history has shown via orange shag rugs and that very special green couch that my mother once owned that we can take earth tones too far. So what attracts us to these colors, and what’s makes them hip one decade but hideous the next?
Blame evolutionary history, not bohemian bad taste. Fall colors trigger feelings of intimacy and authenticity in our brains—something scientists say we crave in the face of this modern world’s mass production of everything from food to art.
Our attraction is evident each autumn when people spend billions to fly from China and beyond just to look at leaves. Growing on trees. Actually, dying on trees—as chlorophyll drains from the leaves of deciduous oaks and maples, their foliage turns shades of yellow, orange, and red before dying and falling to the ground. Scientists disagree on why a tree would use precious energy to produce such a spectacle—is it to deter aphids, which are repelled by red? Or do the colors provide sunscreen while trees fortify themselves for a long, cold winter? Whatever the tree’s motives, we regard autumn colors in American’s Northeast as brilliant, vivid, amazing. But compare the tones to today’s super-saturated digital photography and video, and nature pales in comparison. Still, we’re transfixed.
That’s because we see our own evolution reflected in autumn’s show, says neuroscientist and artist Bevil Conway. Sixty million or so years ago, primates evolved a third vision cone that allowed them—and allows humans—to distinguish yellow from red and green (other mammals like cats and horses have just two cone types that distinguish blue from yellow but not yellow from red and green. They don’t care about fall foliage.). The new cone was handy for distinguishing ripe fruit from the green leaves surrounding it. The third cone also helps us interpret non-verbal communications like a face red with anger, the yellow pallor of jaundice, or the red genitals of a monkey in estrus.
So it makes sense that when it comes to design, terrestrial tones move us subtly and evoke peaceful feelings (or a hippie vibe depending how to look at it). And it also makes sense that fall colors are popular when society is craving authenticity in some way, for example in the late 60’s and 70’s. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, confirmed my theory about color trends over the past few decades: The days of war protests and peace marches also brought us brown corduroy bell-bottoms and those orange shag carpets. In the 80s when everyone was about shiny, happy consumption, bold, primary colors were the rage, and neon made its debut. The 90s brought a recession and grunge. In 2001, 9/11 created a land of competitively patriotic citizens, and red, white and blue became extremely popular colors. Now, Eiseman says, earth tones are in fashion once again—unsurprising with a tanking economy and an unpopular war in Iraq (case in point, the Julien Macdonald military coat shown here).
So there you have it. More than you ever wanted to know about why our brains respond the way they do to brown, tan and green peppered with yellow, red and orange. Bring on the chilly days so I can wear my fuzzy orange hat!